Pokémon Cosmic Quest
by Yuni Oha
Summary: Ash and Pikachu set off for an adventure in the Tenno Region, a place known for its advanced space program. There they encounter new Pokémon, new challenges, new enemies, such as the evil Team Planetary, and a certain group of Team Rocket members, with friends new and old. Written like the actual TV show. Based off of my own Pokémon game concepts, Luna, Terra, and Sol Versions.
1. Episode 1: Tenno, the Final Frontier

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Pokémon

Cosmic Quest

Episode 1: Tenno…the Final Frontier

_ The Tenno Region! A boundless region in the World of Pokémon, the wonder of its beauty is matched only by its grand technological advancements. It's a place of balance where nature and technology live in perfect harmony. _As The Narrator speaks, various scenes of the Tenno Region are shown, such as vast forest, sparkling oceans, a breathtaking starscape, futuristic metropolises, rockets, and, of course, Pokémon. _It's a region known for its history of space exploration. It has the most advanced space flight capabilities in world and an attitude for exploration. It is the perfect place to start a journey…and look, it appears that someone is!_

The scene is a small living room, in a small house. A holographic TV, or holovision, is on in the corner. Standing in the middle of the room is a young girl. She has long brown-blond hair and is wearing pajamas printed with a Jigglypuff pattern. Sitting at a table on the side of the room is an older woman, apparently the younger one's mom. The girl shouts, "I can't believe it! Tomorrow's my tenth birthday!"

The mom smiles. "My, my, is it really that time already?"

"_Mom, _of course it is. You know that!"

"Of course, you haven't stopped talking about it for the past week."

"Tomorrow I get my first Pokémon, then I get to travel around the region all by myself!" She spins around and then falls onto her back on the floor. "I can't wait!" She quickly gets back up. "Hey Mom, do you think that I'll actually get to see Kanaveral City?"

"I don't see why not."

"Oh boy! Maybe I'll get to see the space center…or even better! Maybe I'll get to ride in a rocket!"

The mother chuckles. "I wouldn't count on that."

"I know, but hey, I can hope."

Over the holovision a voice is heard saying, "Welcome one and all to the Celes City Pokémon Contest! I'll be your host today! Let's get to our first round, the Appeal Stage, underway!" A hologram of a Pokémon coordinator running out onto the stage is shown. She waves to the audience and throws a Pokéball and out comes a Beautifly.

The girl notices the holovision and begins to watch it with captivation. The coordinator and her Beautifly put on a stunning show. The girl turns to her mom and asks, "Mom, what's a Pokémon Contest?"

The is surprised. "You've never heard of a Pokémon Contest before?" The girl shakes her head. "You'd love them. It's basically a special form of a Pokémon Battle. In a tournament grid form, special trainers, known as coordinators, compete with their Pokémon, trying to put on the most stunning performance."

The girl is back to watching the holovision. "Mom, I know what I want to do on my journey now. I want to be a Pokémon coordinator."

The mom smiles. "I'll root for you all the way."

* * *

_ That young lady isn't the only one about to start a new adventure. We now travel to the familiar town of Pallet, where ten year old Ash Ketchum and his partner Pikachu live. _Ash is shown in his room, zipping up his shirt and then putting his hat on. Pikachu jumps up onto his shoulder. _He may not be up to anything now, but our hero can never stay in place for too long…_

Ash looks at Pikachu and asks, "Alright buddy, are you ready for today?"

"Pika!"

"Let's go!" Ash runs out of his room and storms down the stairs. He runs by his mom and shouts, "Mom, I'm going out to play with my Pokémon, see you for lunch!"

His mom calls back, "Okay, just don't stay out too long!"

Ash continues running to the door, almost crashing into Mr. Mime, who's sweeping, on the way out. He runs across Pallet Town up towards Professor Oak's lab. He reaches the fence behind the lab and calls out, "Hey guys, I'm here! Who wants to play!?" After several moments, a stampede of Ash's various Pokémon come charging at him.

The next few scenes are a montage of various images of Ash playing with his Pokémon. In one he's riding on a Tauros with the other 29 stampeding behind him. Then he's running with Noctowl, Swellow, Staraptor, and Unfezent flying above him. Then he's watching as Infernape and Charizard battle. Finally, he, Bulbasaur, and Totodile are bouncing on Snorlax's stomach.

After all that, Ash is now lying in the grass on a hill with various Pokémon of his resting with him. Ash repositions himself so that his hands are beneath his head and he looks up at the clouds in the sky. He says to Pikachu, "You know Pikachu, I've had a lot of fun these past few weeks. Its nice to be at home and relax for once, not to mention we get to see all of our friends, but it's getting a little boring. It's not like a Pokémon Master to just sit around at home. You know what I mean?" Pikachu nods. "I wish I had somewhere else to go, but I just don't know where." Ash sighs.

Not far away, Ash's mom is watching Ash. She sighs as well. She says to herself. "Oh Ash, it's been so nice having you home the past few weeks, but I know that you're not happy. You have the heart of an adventurer, there's no way you could ever be content with staying at home. Even if it means I don't get to see you, all I want is for you to be happy." She walks into her house and activates the videophone.

Professor Oak appears on the screen. He says, "Ah, Delilah, to what do I owe the pleasure?"

She sighs again. "I need to ask you a favor."

"Anything Delilah, you name it."

* * *

Some time later, Ash is still lying in the grass with his Pokémon. He jolts up when he hears his mom call, "Oh Ash!"

He gets up and says, "I'll be right back guys." Pikachu jumps onto his shoulder. He runs over to his mom. "What is it mom?"

"I was just talking to Professor Oak, he wants to see you. He says that he has something he wants you to do for him."

"Alright, I'll head over there right now." Ash runs off.

* * *

Ash enters Professor Oak's lab. He calls out, "Professor!? Professor Oak!? It's Ash, I'm here!"

Tracy walks into the room and says, "There you are Ash. The Professor is in the back. He wanted you to meet him there."

"Alright." Ash goes into the back room. There he sees the Professor bending over, examining something.

Oak quickly looks up and says, "Ash, my boy, so glad you could make it!"

"I came as soon as my mom told me you wanted to see me."

"Right, of course. Look at this for me please." Oak beckons to a fist-sized rock on his table.

Ash examines it. "It's a rock."

Oak laughs. "Oh it's much more that a rock. This is a Meteoric Shard. According to legends of the Tenno Region, this is a special meteorite left over from the creation of the Solar System. They say that it has special properties."

Ash questions, "The Tenno Region?"

"Yes, the Tenno Region. It's another region, not too far from Sinnoh actually. They're known for their advanced space travel technology."

Ash nods. "So why do you need me?"

"A colleague of mine in the Tenno Region, Professor Pine, is studying these things. This item is far too valuable to transfer via mail, so I was hoping that you could hand deliver it for me."

Ash smiles. "Sure, I'll do that."

"That's great my boy! I'll book you passage on the next boat to Tenno." The Professor turns around and starts rummage through some stuff. "Of course, you'll be needing this." He hands Ash a red rectangular device with a single button on it.

"What is it?"

"It's my newest model of the Pokédex, complete with Tenno Pokémon."

Ash grabs it. "That's so cool!"

He points it at Pikachu and presses the button. A hologram of Pikachu appears and an electronic voice says, "Pikachu, the Electric Mouse Pokémon and an Electric-Type. Pikachu tend to live in groups in the forest. If one Pikachu is threatened, it will release a electric pulse that alerts the rest of its group of danger. Pikachu Evolves from Pichu through friendship and into Raichu with the use of a Thunderstone."

Oak explains, "As you can see, a new feature is that it tells you how the Pokémon evolves. It can be very helpful."

"Thanks Professor, I'll leave as soon as I can."

Little do the two know, watching them from the other side of a window is Team Rocket, Jessie, James, and Meowth. Mime Jr. is perched on James shoulder. Meowth asks, "Did you here that? The twerp's going to go to the Tenno Region!"

Jessie says, "Finally, a change in venue."

James adds, "It's been weeks now, we've failed to catch Pikachu at least a dozen times since the twerp returned home."

Meowth says, "Well, that's all about to change. We'll be the first Team Rocket operatives in the Tenno Region, if I'm correct."

That makes Jessie and James happy. Jessie exclaims, "Just imagine how pleased The Boss will be when we conquer Tenno for him!

James adds, "He'll promote us for sure!"

Meowth shouts, "We'll be living in luxury!"

Ash and Oak look out the window, Team Rocket ducks down. Ash says, "Odd, I could have sworn I heard something."

Team Rocket all look at each other and chant excitedly in whisper, "A life of luxury is the life for us."

Wobbuffet pops out of its Pokéball and declares, "Wobbuffet!" Jessie sighs and returns him.

James states, "We better go tell The Boss the good news."

The three sneak away. They make it to a pay videophone booth. James digs through his pockets and says with horror, "Umm…guys? I think I used my last quarter when we called The Boss yesterday."

Jessie says, "I don't have any money."

They both turn to Meowth, who says, "Hey, don't look at me, just call collect."

James exclaims, "Good idea!" He picks up the phone and dials a number. A female Team Rocket operative appears on the screen. James complains, "Hey, I dialed the Boss' number, what gives?"

The girl sighs, "Oh great, it's you guys. Mr. Giovanni has decided to have all of his calls screened…just in case you three call."

Jessie demands, "why wouldn't the boss want to talk to me? I get one of these losers, but me?"

The operative sighs with annoyance. "Look, if you have something to tell Mr. Giovanni, I'll tell him for you."

James says, "Alright then, tell him that we're going to the Tenno Region in order to conquer it in his name."

"Right, sure." On the other side a loud ruckus is heard.

Jessie asks, "What's going on there? It sounds like you're under attack."

"We might as well be. These two crazed Pokémon showed up the other day. We haven't been able to calm them down."

Just then, the girl is shoved aside and two new Pokémon appear on the screen. One bears a resemblance to Arbok, except its body is longer, yet more slim. The patterns on its hood are spread across its entire body. It also has sharp fangs coming out of its mouth from both the top and bottom. It frantically starts to say in a hissing voice, "Repiv, repivvvvv!"

The other appears like Weezing, except with a third head segment growing out of the left of its main head, this one half the size as the main one. It says as if its choking, "Hak…haking…hak!"

For a few moments, Team Rocket is unsure how to responds. Then suddenly Jessie and James' recognize the Pokémon. James questions, "Weezing?"

Jessie questions, "Arbok?"

The two Pokémon excitedly nod their heads. The operative who answered the phone pushes them out of the way and asks, "Are these your Pokémon?"

The two nod. James answers, "Yes…at least they used to be. We had to leave them behind a while ago."

"No wonder they've been going crazy. They're trying to find you! We'll catch them in Pokéballs and send them to you." Jessie and James nod.

* * *

Ash is at a harbor with Pikachu on his shoulder. He's looking at what first might appear to be a large ship, but closer examination reveals it be much more of a sleek and futuristic design. On top of that, it's not even touching the water, rather its hovering a few feet above it. Ash asks a man walking by, "Hey sir, what's up with that weird boat?"

The man looks up at it. "Oh that, that's what all boats are like in the Tenno Region, they've developed technology for hovercraft, that boat is but one example." The man walks away.

Ash marvels, "Wow, that's amazing."

Someone calls out, "Last call for those boarding the ferry to the Tenno Region!"

Ash rush over, "Wait for me!" He shows the man his ticket and boards. The hover boat disembarks. As soon as it leaves the harbor, it begins to travel at high speeds, faster than any normal boat.

* * *

A little bit later, Ash is looking over the rail of the boat, staring out at sea. Suddenly he hears people gasping in surprise all around the deck of the boat. He hears people saying stuff such as, "Look, up there!" or "What's that!?"

Ash looks towards the direction that everyone is pointing in. Floating towards the boat is none other than Team Rocket's balloon (the pre-Unova Meowth balloon). Jessie begins the their motto, "Prepare for trouble!

James continues, "Make it double!"

"To protect the world from devastation!"

"To unite all people within our nation!"

"To denounce the evils of truth and love!"

"To extend our reach to the stars above!"

"Jessie!"

"James!"

"Team Rocket blasts off at the speed of light!"

"Surrender now or prepare to fight!"

Meowth comes in with, "Meowth, that's right!"

Mime Jr. and Wobbuffet come out of their Pokéballs to says "Mime mime!" and "Wobbuffet!" respectively.

Ash sighs, "Not you guys again! Can't you just stay in Kanto!?"

James asks, "Why would we ever do that? Pikachu is here."

Jessie and James each throw a Pokéball, sending out their newest Pokémon. Ash observes, "It looks like Team Rocket got new Pokémon." He pulls out his Pokédex.

On Jessie's Pokémon, it says, "Repiv, the Viper Pokémon, and a Poison-Type. Repiv have some of the most powerful venom in the world, one bite could poison a Wailord. Repiv evolves from Arbok with use of the Poison Fang item."

Then James'. "Haking, the Toxic Gas Pokémon and a Poison-Type. Having grown an extra head, Haking can produce even more gas than Weezing. It will eat various rotten foods in order to produce its volatile gas. Evolves from Weezing with the use of the Radioactive Sludge item."

Pikachu hops off of Ash's shoulder and prepares to fight. Jessie commands, "Repiv, Poison Fang, now!"

James commands, "And you use Sludge Bomb Haking!"

Repiv slithers at high speeds towards Pikachu. It opens its mouth and its fangs glow purple. Ash commands, "Dodge it Pikachu!" Pikachu jumps out of the way, but is put in the way of the Sludge Bomb. "Counter with Iron Tail!"

Pikachu's tail turns silver and metallic. "Chu pika!" It hit's the Sludge Bomb back at Haking, knocking it back.

"Alright Pikachu, now use Thunderbolt on Repiv!"

"Pikaachuuuuu!" The electric attack hits Repiv and sends it flying as well. Team Rocket's Pokémon land at the end of the boat.

"Now let's finish this up! Use Volt Tackle!"

Pikachu begins to run towards the downed Pokémon. "Pika, pika, pika, pika, pika…" Electricity begins to gather around him. "Chu!" He hits the Pokémon, sending them flying into the air. The two Pokémon crash into Team Rocket's balloon, causing it pop, sending Team Rocket flying away.

Following Team Rocket flying through the air, Meowth sighs, "Well, here we go again."

James exclaims, "I'm just happy to be with my dear old Weezing…I mean Haking again!" He hugs Haking.

Jessie nods. "Yes, I'm happy that you're back too Repiv."

All of them at once say, "Looks like Team Rocket's blasting off again!" They disappear in a flash of light.

Back at the boat, Pikachu hops back onto Ash's shoulder. Ash says, "Good job Pikachu!" He takes a moment to look off in the distance. He can see land approaching. "Look at that, we're almost there!"

Pikachu smiles. "Chu!"

"Soon we'll be in a whole new region. There will be new places to explore, and new Pokémon to see. I can't wait." Pikachu appears to agree.

_ And so, Ash's newest adventure is just about to begin. Who knows what could happen? The only way to find out is to stay tuned._

**To Be Continued…**


	2. Episode 2: Enter Planetary

Episode 2: Enter Planetary

Ash and Pikachu are getting off of the hover boat in a small seaside town. _We join our hero as he takes his first steps into the Tenno Region. But he's not the only one starting a journey. Let's first take a look at a young girl on her tenth birthday._

The girl from the previous episode steps out of her room. She is dressed in a white shirt with small red vest over it. She has a red skirt and wears a white sun hat with a red and black Pokéball design on it. She also has an over-the-shoulder bag. Her mom is standing in front of her. The girl twirls around and asks, "So, what do you think?"

"You look adorable honey. Just like a new trainer should."

"Na ah, that's coordinator."

The mom smiles. "Of course. You know your way to Professor Pine's lab, right?"

"Of course mom, everyone in town does."

"I know, but it is better safe than sorry."

She smiles. "Right. Alright, I'm ready to go."

"Just be careful, promise me you won't take any risks that would put you or your Pokémon in danger."

The girl grows a little annoyed. "I know mom, I know."

The mom bends over, hugs her, and gives her a kiss on the cheek.

The girl pulls away. "Mom, I'm not a kid anymore, I'm ten."

The mom chuckles. "You'll always be my little Brenda."

The girl, Brenda, begins to walk towards the door. "I promise that I'll call you when ever I get the chance. Don't worry about me."

"I don't think that anything could stop me from worrying, but I'll try. Good luck."

Brenda smiles. "I won't even need it." She walks out the door. Once out, she says to herself, "Oh boy, this is going to be great!" She runs down the street.

After a little while of running and taking a couple of turns, she makes it to a large building. A sign mounted on it above the door says, "Pine Research Laboratory. Discovering the link between Pokémon and outer space."

Brenda grins and walks in. Once inside she sees two people. One is a taller, older man with graying hair which is combed back neatly. He wears a lab coat. The other is only just older than Brenda. He wears a white suit with gray pants and has blue hair. On the left side of his chest, there is an emblem. It is a yellow P with a sun inside of the hole on the P, and several ovular lines around the outside of the P with dots on various parts of them, as if representing planets orbiting a star. The older man says, "I'm sorry, I would like to help out Team Planetary if I could, but I just can't."

The other asserts, "Of course you can! You have three available Pokémon, I only require one."

"Look, Team Planetary is a respectable organization, and I realize that without them we wouldn't be where we are today with technology, but these Pokémon are reserved for new trainers who have registered. If you want to go register, and come back after a week, once your registration is complete, I'll gladly give you a Pokémon, but for now, I just can't."

The man shakes his head. "You'll regret crossing Team Planetary." The man storms out, walking past Brenda.

The remaining man notices her and says, "Ah, Brenda, right on time. I'm sorry you had to see that. Those Team Planetary types, they think they rule the world or something." He shakes his head. "Let's not worry about that though, are you ready to chose your first Pokémon?"

"Yes Professor Pine."

"Excellent."

Then there is a knock on the door. Pine appears confused. He calls, "Come in!" The door opens and Ash and Pikachu walk in. Pine asks, "Hello, and who are you?"

Ash smiles. "My name's Ash Ketchum, I'm from Pallet Town. This is my partner Pikachu."

"Pika!"

"Ah, Pallet Town. Samuel Oak must have sent you."

Ash nods. He pulls off his back pack and digs into it. He pulls out the Meteoric Shard.

Pine's eyes light up. "My, my, this is the finest specimen I've ever seen! I must remember to express my gratitude to Samuel." He turns back to Brenda. "I'm sorry my dear, I've been waiting for this delivery for a while now." He takes the Shard from Ash and places it on a table across the room. "Now, for that Pokémon." He shows Brenda to a table with three Pokéballs on it. He presses the button on each, releasing three Pokémon.

Ash's eyes go wide with awe. He asks Brenda, "Are you picking your first Pokémon!?"

She nods. "Yup."

Ash approaches the table and pulls out his Pokédex. He points it at the first Pokémon. It is a green and tan quadruped Pokémon. Growing out of its back is a small fern plant. On its head is a just sprouted fern fiddlehead. The Pokédex activates. "Sporout, the Fiddleheaded Pokémon and a Grass and Ground combo-type. It is believed that long ago Sporout were only Ground-Type Pokémon, but they formed a symbiotic relationship with spores from another planet. Now all Sporout are given spores at birth. Evolves into Buffern at Level 16."

The next one is a red and orange turtle. On its shell is a single cell from a solar battery. "Turcell, the Solar Cell Pokémon and a Fire and Steel combo-type. The panel on Turcell's back is used to absorb energy from the sun to power its Fire-Type attacks. If threatened Turcell will retreat into its shell. Evolves into Turtsol at Level 16."

The final is a purple and blue bipedal Pokémon. It stands in a hunched position and has a large head. Its hands and feet are webbed and it has large, black eyes. "Kappaqua, the Psychic Kappa Pokémon and a Water and Psychic combo-type. For a long time, Kappaqua were thought to be nothing but myth. No one is sure where Kappaqua come from. Some even believe that they came from outer space. Evolves into Kappaqueous at Level 16."

Ash puts away his Pokédex and exclaims, "That's so cool! I remember the day I got Pikachu, he was my first Pokémon. Which one are you going to chose?"

Brenda looks them over. She responds, "To be honest, I haven't fully decided yet. I wanted to see them for myself first."

Professor Pine says, "There's no need to rush. This could be one of the most important decisions you make. Take your time."

Brenda nods. As she's looking, there's a sudden crash. The entire back wall collapses. Pine shouts in surprise, "Great stars above! What just happened!?"

The dust clears revealing three men on the other side of the broken wall. One is the guy from before, and the other two are new. They both wear the exact same outfit, a white and grey jumpsuit with the same P emblem as the first's, except larger, and more centered. The top, sides, and back of their heads are covered by the same sort of hats that astronauts wear underneath their space helmets. In front of the one on the right is a Solrock and the one on the left has a Lunatone.

Pine demands, "Cosmo, what are you doing!?"

The guy from before, Cosmo, says, "You chose not to assist Team Planetary. I need a Pokémon, and now I have no choice but to take one from you." Cosmo walks forward a few steps. Turcell and Kappaqua appear frightened by the collapsing wall. They leap off the table and run out.

Ash shouts, "Don't you dare touch one of those Pokémon!"

He charges at Cosmo, but one of the Team Planetary grunts commands, "Solrock, Psychic Attack!" Ash is thrown back by the attack. He says smugly, "None of you are moving a muscle."

Cosmo approaches the remaining Pokémon, Sporout. It appears unafraid. Cosmo says, "You are a brave one. You'll suit me fine." He picks up the Pokéball next to it and returns it to the ball. He looks up towards Pine. "This could have been easy. I truly regret having to go to such extremes." He turns around and walks out. "Oh, yeah. Send the bill for the wall repair to Team Planetary. We'll handle it." He and the grunts leave. The psychic field around Ash, Brenda, and Pine dissipates.

Ash shouts, "I'll get that guy!" and runs out.

Brenda follows him and says, "I'll get the Pokémon that ran away!"

After the two have left, an overwhelmed Professor Pine says to himself, "And I'll…just clean up here."

* * *

Ash and Pikachu manage to catch up with the Team Planetary group on the outskirt of the town. Ash shouts, "You're going to give back that Pokémon you stole! Pikachu, Thunder Bolt!"

Pikachu leaps off of Ash's arm and charges for its attack. "Pikaaa chuuuuuuu!"

One of the grunts stops running and commands, "Solrock, Protect!"

"Sol!" The sun Pokémon creates a barrier around it that halts Pikachu's attack.

Cosmo says, "We have no time for this. Take care of him you two!"

Both grunts say, "Yes sir!"

One shouts, "Solar Beam, now!"

The other, "Use your Lunar Beam!" Both Pokémon charge up energy. The Solrock fires a golden beam of energy, while Lunatone lets loose a shadowy beam.

"Pikachu, dodge, and then use Electro Ball!"

Pikachu leaps above the attacks and then charges a ball of electricity on its tail. "Pikaachu!" It launches the ball at the two Pokémon.

Both grunts command, "Deflect it with Psychic!" Both Pokémon's eyes glow purple and purple energy appears around the Electro Ball, catching it. It is then thrown back at Pikachu.

Pikachu attempts to escape, but is unable. "Pika!"

Both grunts continue, "Now let's finish this! Stone Edge!"

"Solrock!" "Lunatone!" Both summon several sharp-edged stones and send them flying at Pikachu.

Ash shouts, "Pikachu, no!" Pikachu is hit by the stones and falls to the ground, knocked out. Ash runs over to Pikachu and picks him up.

Cosmo looks at Ash and says, "That's what you get for following me. Come on, move out." He and the grunts run off.

A tear comes to Ash's eye. "Pikachu, I'm sorry." He looks around frantically, and to his luck, there is a Pokémon Center nearby. He gets up and runs towards it.

Watching from the top of a nearby building via binoculars is Team Rocket. Jessie asks in shock, "Did you just see that? Those guys just beat the Twerp's Pikachu!"

James looks deep in thought. Meowth says, "They may have beat Pikachu, but think about their name! They call themselves Team Planetary! They're obviously copying us!"

Jessie exclaims, "You're right! We're the original space-based team! They're trying to steal our image! Come on James, what do you think?"

"Oh, sorry. I just can't help but shake the feeling that I've heard of Team Planetary before. Something from my boot camp days."

Meowth says, "Don't worry about it! We need to go show those phonies who the real team is!"

Jessie and James cheer, "Yeah!"

Wobbuffet appears. "Wobbuffet!"

Jessie grunts, "Did I ask for your opinion?" and returns him to his Pokéball.

* * *

Ash bursts through the door of the Pokémon center. Behind the counter is a Nurse Joy (the same one as from Kanto, Johto, Hoenn, and Sinnoh). She says in surprise, "Oh my, your Pikachu looks badly hurt!"

Ash nods. "Please Nurse Joy, can you help my Pikachu?"

She nods. "Don't worry, we have one of the best doctors around right now." She calls off, "Doctor, we need you!"

A familiar voice shouts back in a dream-like fashion, "Coming my dear!" Someone in a doctor's coat comes running around the corner. The view of him is from behind, so we can't make out who it is. He suddenly stops cold upon seeing Ash. He says in shock, "It's Ash…"

Ash also looks surprised. He stammers, "It's…it's Brock…" Sure enough, standing there is none other than Brock.

* * *

The Team Planetary group is standing in a forest clearing. Cosmo states, "We'll simply wait here for our pick-up. I think we discouraged any followers."

Just Jessie can be heard chuckling. James shouts, "Think again!"

The group looks towards the sky to see the Meowth balloon descending towards them. Cosmo demands, "Who are you!?"

Meowth comments, "I sense a motto coming on."

Sure enough, Jessie begins, "Prepare for trouble, all you fakes!"

James continues, "And make it double, we'll be an ache!"

"To protect the world from shameless copycats!

"To unite all people against you brats!"

"To announce the evils of copyright infringement!"

"Trust me, it is not a compliment!"

"Jessie!"

"James!"

"Team Rocket is the original all day and night!"

"Surrender now, or prepare to fight!"

"Meowth, that's right!"

"Mime mime!"

"Wobbuffet!"

Cosmo puts his hand to his forehead in annoyance. He says sarcastically, "Great, Team Rocket is in Tenno now, this is just what I need."

One of the grunts laughs and says, "I wouldn't worry too much about these two goofs."

Meowth says with offense, "_Three_ goofs, that's _three_ goofs!" He quickly takes it back. "Forget I said that goof part."

Jessie states, "Besides, it's you who is the goof. How dare you copy such a great and powerful organization as Team Rocket?"

Cosmo turns away from them and simply says, "Get rid of them."

Jessie asserts, "Excuse me, I was talking to you!"

James adds, "Yeah, how rude!"

The grunts are already commanding their Pokémon, "Solrock, Solar Beam!" and "Lunatone, Lunar Beam!" The combined attacks impact Team Rocket and explode, causing them to be sent flying away.

On their way out, Jessie says with anger, "Those phonies get me so angry!"

James shout, "How dare they attack us!"

Meowth turns forward, shrugs, and states, "Take this as a lesson kids, copyrights exist for a reason."

They all say in unison, "Looks the originals are blasting off again!"

* * *

Brenda is running through the forest. She appears nervous. She calls out, "Turcell, Kappaqua, where are you!?" She continues to make her way forward.

Out of nowhere she hears the cry of a distressed Pokémon, "Kap! Kappaqua! Kappa!"

Brenda dashes forward and finds herself right before a cliff. There, hanging off of a scrawny tree over the cliff, is the missing Kappaqua. The branch its on is sagging, and seems dangerously close to snapping. Brenda shouts, "Kappaqua, are you okay!?"

The Pokémon responds with a panicked, "Kappa! Kappa!"

"Right, of course, hanging over a cliff. Alright, just hang in there, I'll figure out a way to get you down." She looks around and sees a fallen branch. She runs over and picks it up. "I'm going to extend this branch towards you, you just need to grab onto it. Okay?"

"Kappa! Kap!" Brenda does as she explained. Kappaqua looks towards the branch, towards Brenda, and then back to the branch. It shouts, "Kappaqua!" as it leaps from its branch to hers. She pulls the branch and falls backwards as she does. Kappaqua lands on her stomach.

She asks, "That wasn't too bad, was it?"

It sighs, "Aqua…"

"Come on, let's get back to the lab." She gets up and tosses the branch into some nearby bushes. As soon as it lands a buzzing sound can be heard. She looks towards Kappaqua and asks, "Do you hear that, or is it just me?" It gulps in nervousness.

Out of the bushes rise ten or so Beedrill. They can be heard buzzing, as well as saying, "Bee, bee, bee!"

"That's a lot of Beedrill…" Brenda, still carrying Kappaqua runs away. The Beedrill follow them in pursuit. They run through the forest, weaving through trees.

After running through the forest for a little Kappaqua starts to complain, "Kappa, kap, kappaqua!"

Brenda questions while still panicking, "What is it Kappaqua?"

Kappaqua jumps out of her arms and lands before the Beedrill, who stop as soon as they see that Brenda and Kappaqua have. "Kappa kappa!"

Brenda realizes what it means. "You want to protect me?"

It affirms, "Kappa!" It closes its eyes in concentration and then shouts, "Kappaqua!" as its eyes glow purple. A purple energy appears around all the Beedrill and they're thrown to the side.

Brenda exclaims, "That was a Confusion attack, and a powerful one at that!"

As if to show it has more, it fires a jet of water from its mouth, soaking the Beedrill.

"And that was a Water Gun! You're a powerful Pokémon!"

The wet Beedrill fly away. Kappaqua gives a prideful, "Aqua!" it jumps back into Brenda's arms.

She smiles and says, "I guess we're even now, aren't we?"

* * *

Ash is standing in front of a window in the Pokémon center. On the other side is Pikachu, lying on a hospital table. Ash sighs. Out of a door next to the window, Brock walks out. Following him is a Blissey. He says, "I've done all I can, Pikachu should recover shortly."

Ash breaths a sigh of relief. "That's good to know." He turns to Brock. "Alright, so tell me what's up. The last time we talked, you were going to study to become a doctor."

Brock smiles. "Yeah, those were the good old days. I did anyways. I got through all of that though. Now I'm a traveling Pokémon doctor. Blissey here and I travel from Pokémon Center to Pokémon Center helping out the Nurse Joys." At the mention of Nurse Joy, Brocks face goes into a dream-like state. "Ah…all the Nurse Joys…it's the best job a man can ask for."

Ash looks at the Blissey and asks, "So is this the same Chansey you had back then?"

"You bet she is. She's been a big help to me. Isn't that right?"

"Blissey!"

Brock's expression turns more serious. "Now you have something to tell me. What happened to Pikachu?"

Ash sighs. "I was at Professor Pine's lab when these bad guys calling themselves Team Planetary stormed in and stole one if his Pokémon. I chased after them, and they did this to Pikachu."

A chime goes off and Brock says, "Ah, Pikachu must be ready to go now."

"That's good to hear." Brock leads Ash into the next room. Ash bends down next to Pikachu's bed and asks, "Pikachu, how do you feel?"

Pikachu smiles. "Chu."

"That's great. I was worried for you. Come on, we need to go." Pikachu hops onto Ash's shoulder. The two start to leave.

Brock gets in his way and says, "Stop right there. Don't tell me you're going after Team Planetary again."

Ash clenches his fists. "Brock, I have to. You don't get it. I think about those guys just stealing Pokémon because they want to. It gets me so mad. I have to go."

Brock sighs. "Fine, just be careful. I don't want to see you in here again."

Ash smiles. "Don't worry Brock, I won't"

* * *

Ash is traveling through the forest. As he's running, he hears the terrified cries of a Pokémon, "Tur, tur! Turcell!"

Ash goes through some trees, towards the cry. There's a river and on a rock in its center is the missing Turcell. Ash shouts, "That Turcell is in trouble!" The Turcell sees him and starts to cry even more. "Don't worry, I'll help you!" Ash wades into the water and picks up the stranded Pokémon. Holding it above his head, he carries it back to the shore.

He sets it down and the Turcell grows excited. It cries out in joy, "Turcell! Tur!" It rubs up against Ash's leg.

Ash says to it, "You're welcome. Hey, would you mind heading back the lab by yourself? There's something important I've got to do."

It nods. "Turcell."

Ash starts to move again. He calls back, "See you later!" He gets back to running through the forest. He says to Pikachu, "They left in this direction, hopefully we can catch up with them. Are you ready Pikachu?"

Pikachu gives a determined , "Chu!"

They keep on running, and after a little bit they make it into the clearing were the Team Planetary group is waiting. Sure enough, they're still there. One of the grunts says, "Um…boss…"

Cosmo sighs and turns around to see Ash. He comments, "My, my, we are determined, aren't we?"

Ash shouts, "I won't stop until you give back that Pokémon!"

The two grunts ready their Pokéballs for a battle. Cosmo steps forward and says, "You two sit this one out. I'll handle it personally." He pulls of a Pokéball from his belt and enlarges it.

"Let's do this Pikachu." Pikachu jumps off of his arm and lets loose some sparks.

Cosmo throws his Pokéball. "Go Sporout!" The fern covered Pokémon emerges.

Ash says, "Alright Pikachu, Sporout is part Ground-Type, so your Electric-Types moves won't work. We'll have to stick to your other moves. Let's start this off with a Quick Attack!"

Pikachu dashes with high speed at the Sporout. Cosmo commands, "Spore Guard!" Sporout stands still. Pikachu rams into it, knocking it back.

Ash shouts, "Perfect, now hit it again with an Iron Tail!"

Pikachu starts the attack. "Chu…Pika!" Something about Pikachu's move is sluggish and Sporout easily dodges.

Ash asks, "What gives? You're normally way faster than that!"

Cosmo explains, "Spore Guard is an interesting move. It cloaks the user in special spores which will spread to any Pokémon that makes direct contact with it. These spores slow down any non-Grass-Type Pokémon."

Ash is annoyed. "Alright, don't worry about it Pikachu, use another Iron Tail."

Pikachu moves in to attack again. Cosmo shouts, "Dodge, and use Razor Leaf!" Sporout jumps out of the way once more, and then sends several leaf projectiles at Pikachu. It tries to dodge, but is too slow.

Ash shouts, "Pikachu!"

"Now, Razor Leaf, once more!"

"Pikachu, counter it with Thunderbolt!"

"Pikaaachuuuuuu!" Pikachu's attack destroys all of the leaves.

"Now let's get your speed back up! Use Agility, and follow it up with a Quick Attack!" Pikachu begins to pick up speed as it runs towards Cosmo's Pokémon. It turns into a full out Quick Attack.

"Dodge it Sporout!" The Pokémon tries to, but Pikachu is too fast.

"Yeah, now an Iron Tail!" Pikachu switches into an Iron Tail and smacks Sporout away. It gets back up. The two Pokémon face each other, ready to go back at it.

Ash begins, "Once more, Quick-!" but before he can finish, an odd noise is heard. Overhead comes a hovering vehicle with a rope ladder hanging off of it.

Cosmo apologizes, "I'm sorry, but that's our ride. I must be off." The grunts jump on to the ladder and climb up. "Sporout, return!" The Pokémon returns to its ball.

Ash shouts, "Hey, get back here!" Cosmo grabs onto the ladder and the hovercraft flies away. "Pikachu, stop it with Thunder!"

"Pikaaachuuuuu!" The craft is too far away for the attack.

Ash sighs. "They got away…"

* * *

Later, Ash arrives back at the lab, which is still in ruins. Professor Pine and Brenda are there, and Brenda is still carrying Kappaqua. Ash sighs. Pine walks up to him asks, "Ash, what happened?"

"I caught up with those thieves, but then they got away. I'm so sorry I failed."

Pine slowly shakes his head. He turns to Brenda. "I'm sorry that I can't offer you the full selection of starter Pokémon."

She smiles. "Don't worry, I've already decided which one I want."

She laughs and Kappaqua happily says, "Kap kap!"

Ash looks around and asks, "Hey, where's Turcell?"

Pine asks, "I don't know, why?"

"I saw it in the forest, and I told it come back here, it said it would."

"I'll just have to wait for it to show up. I hope that that little Pokémon is okay." He sighs. "Anyways, on a lighter note, I talked to Professor Oak, he told me that you like to challenge Gyms."

Ash perks up a little. "Yeah, it's my goal become a Pokémon Master!"

"Perfect, because we actually have a Pokémon League here in Tenno."

"Did you hear that Pikachu!? They have Gyms here!"

"Pika!"

"I guess we'll leave for those right away!"

Brenda asks, "You're going to travel across the region?"

"You bet!"

"Would you mind if I came with you? I want to do the same."

"Why not, the more them merrier, right Pikachu?"

"Pika!"

Pine claps his hands together. "It always makes me happy to see new friends being made. I wish you both the best of luck on your journey."

Ash starts to run out through the broken wall. Brenda follows and calls back, "Good luck with fixing your lab Professor!" The Professor sighs.

As they're leaving town, Ash is saying to Brenda, "You'll love being a Pokémon trainer! You get to go wherever you want, and every day is an adventure!"

Brenda cheers, "I love adventure!"

"Who doesn't!?"

Brock's voice says, "I hope that you don't plan on having an adventure without me." They look behind him, and sure enough, Brock, in full travel clothes and a backpack is walking towards them.

Ash asks, "What are you doing here Brock?"

Brock laughs, "Do you think that I'd allow you to travel around with out me? Ha! I'm coming with you!"

"But what about your job?"

"That's the best part, I'd still be doing my job, traveling from town to town, that's what you do, right?"

Ash smiles. "Glad to have you back." He turns to Brenda. "Brenda, this is Brock, he's an old friend of mine. We go way back."

Brock extends a hand and they shake. He says, "It's a pleasure to meet you Brenda."

She says, "The same."

The three continue on walking out of the town.

_ Ash's new adventure has only just begun! Now with a group of friends, he embarks on a journey through the Tenno Region. One thing's for sure, you must stay tuned!_

As the group walks off, the Turcell from before peeks its head out from behind a building, and then races off after Ash.

**To Be Continued…**


	3. Episode 3: A Bird in the Hand

Episode 3: A Bird in the Hand

_ Today we join our heroes in the small town of Aster. It's the first stop for trainers wishing to enter the Tenno League. What adventure could this place have in store for them? Let's find out._

Ash, Brock, and Brenda stroll into a town. While still keeping the feeling of a small town, it also has several more futuristic aspects, such as holographic signs, or some hovering vehicles. Brenda says excitedly, "This is it, Aster Town!" She looks around, taking in the sights.

Brock is reading a guidebook. He says, "According to this, this is the place where new trainers sign up for the Tenno League."

Ash raises his fist in to the air excitedly. "Yeah!"

Brenda continues to looks around. She says, "This is the farthest I've ever been away from home."

Ash asks, "Really, you've never gone on any trips or anything?"

She shakes her head. "No, that's part of the reason I wanted to go on a Pokémon journey. It's the perfect opportunity to see the world."

Brock comments, "You've got that right. Come on, let's get to the Pokémon Center, so Ash can sign up for the Tenno League."

* * *

The group walks into the Pokémon Center. Nurse Joy is standing behind her desk with a Chansey next to her. She says, "Hello, welcome to the Aster Town Pokémon Center. How may I help you?"

Ash starts to say, "I'd like to-"

He's cut off by Brock jumping in front of him and kneeling before Nurse Joy. His eyes turn to hearts and he says in a trace-like voice, "I'll tell you how you can help me. You can come with me, we'll live out our lives together as the perfect couple. Just tell me you'll say yes, and you'll make me the happiest man-"

Brock is then interrupted by Nurse Joy's Chansey ramming into him. "Chansey!" Brenda has been watching this entire encounter with an extremely confused look.

Nurse Joy scratches the back of her head awkwardly. She apologizes, "Sorry, my Chansey doesn't take well to people getting that close to me."

Ash laughs with slight embarrassment, then says, "No, it should be me apologizing. My friend can get a little crazy around girls."

Brock, who's still lying on the floor, slowly raises his hand and says, "I regret nothing…" and the hand falls.

Ash says, "Anyways, I'm Ash, from Pallet Town, and this is my partner Pikachu. I just got to this region, and I want to sign up for the Tenno League."

Nurse Joy smiles. "Of course. Do you have a Pokédex?"

Ash digs around in his pocket and pulls out his Pokédex. "Here it is."

Nurse Joy takes it and turns around, plugging it into a computer. The electronic voice of the Pokédex says, "This unit is registered to Ash Ketchum of Pallet Town." On the computer screen a picture of Ash pops up, along with one of Pikachu and slots for five other Pokémon.

Nurse Joy unhooks the Pokédex and hands back to Ash. "Alright, you're all registered. This is your official League Pass," she hands Ash an ID card with his picture on it, "and this is your badge case." She hands him an ornately designed box with the picture of a starscape on it.

Ash takes both. "Tenno League, here I come!"

"Pika!"

Ash turns to Brenda and suggests, "Hey Brenda, why don't you sign up, gym battles are a great way to test your skills as a trainer."

She shakes her head. "No, I actually have something else in mind."

"Really, what?"

She smiles. "It's a secret."

Just as she's saying that, two young boys run into the room. One is carrying a Weedle, the other an Oddish, both are hurt. The one with the Weedle shouts, "Nurse Joy, Nurse Joy! Please help our Pokémon!"

She asks, "Oh no, what happened!?"

The other boy explains, "It was that Apprentichick again."

"Oh no, don't worry, I'll take care of your Pokémon." Chansey brings in a gurney and the boys place their Pokémon on it. Nurse Joy and Chansey run into the back room with them.

Ash asks, "What happened to them?"

The first boy exclaims, "Didn't you hear me? The Apprentichick happened!"

Brenda steps forward. "I'm sorry, we're not from around here, we don't know what you mean."

"Oh, sorry. I didn't realize. You see, about a month ago, this Pokémon, Apprentichick flew into town, and ever since, if it sees a Pokémon, it will challenge it to a battle, and it won't take no for an answer. If it ever comes close to losing, it will just fly away, but then it'll just come back later to fight again. It's not only a major annoyance, but it also hurts Pokémon that aren't ready for battle, just like ours."

Brock, who's spent the past few minutes on the floor, springs up saying, "That's awful!"

The other boy says, "Tell me about it. There's nothing we can do about it. It just won't stop."

Brock looks thoughtful. "I wonder what would cause that kind of behavior in a Pokémon."

"Nobody is really sure."

* * *

Ash, Brock, and Brenda are now walking down the streets of Aster Town. Brock still looks concerned. He says, "The story with the Apprentichick concerns me. There's something else going on beyond just it wanting to fight."

As he's saying that, they hear a bird-like Pokémon cry from above, "Apprentichick!" The Pokémon lands in front of them. It is a small bird Pokémon with dark grey feathers about a foot high. Around its head and face is a pattern of lighter grey feathers, causing it to appear as if the Pokémon is wearing a knight's helmet. For a bird of its size, its legs are fairly large, inferring that it is as good a walker as well as a flyer. Along with those large legs are even larger talons. It hops from leg to leg and holds up its wings, as if they were fists. "Chick! Apprentichick!"

Ash pulls out his Pokédex. "Apprentichick, the Squire Bird Pokémon and a Flying and Normal combo type. Apprentichick are known to challenge Pokémon several times their own size to battle and are famous for their fighting spirit. Apprentichick spends up to ten hours a day training. Evolves into Falcoknight at level 17."

Brenda exclaims, "That must be the same one!"

Apprentichick shouts, "Chick, chick!" and points at Pikachu.

Ash grins determinedly. "You want to battle Pikachu?"

"Apprentichick!"

Pikachu jumps off of Ash's arm. "Chu!"

Brock warns, "Be careful Ash!"

Ash turns his hat backwards. "Don't worry Brock, we've got this."

Apprentichick flies into the air and then dives, with its wings glowing. Brock says, "Look out, here comes Wing Attack!"

"Pikachu, dodge! Then use Thunderbolt!"

Pikachu rolls out of the way and Apprentichick misses, and then flies upwards. "Pikaaachuuuuu!" Pikachu unleashes its Thunderbolt, which hits Apprentichick dead on. Apprentichick ignores it and dives down again. Just as it's about to hit Pikachu, with a sudden burst of speed it disappears and then reappears behind Pikachu, hitting it with a Wing Attack.

Ash asks, "What was that!?"

Brock explains, "That was Apprentichick's Aerial Maneuvers attack, it can make the Pokémon very tricky to hit." Apprentichick comes flying at Pikachu, with its talons glowing and poised for attack. Brock then explains, "And now its preparing to use Talon Grapple! That move inflicts both Flying and Fighting type damage!"

Ash says, "Alright, if it wants to fight close quarters, we'll fight close quarters. Pikachu, rapid fire Iron Tail!" Pikachu's Iron Tail slams into Apprentichick's talons. The two continue to attack each other, continuously impacting one another. Ash then commands, "Switch to Electro Ball!" In a break in attacks, Pikachu launches its Electro Ball, which hits Apprentichick directly, knocking it back. It quickly gets back up and then flies away. Ash calls out, "Wait, don't you want to finish our battle!?" But it ignores Ash. Pikachu climbs back up on Ash.

In a nearby alleyway, Team Rocket is hiding behind a dumpster. James states, "That Pokémon's got spunk."

Jessie shrugs. "I don't see the big deal."

Meowth cries, "What!? This Pokémon could be our chance at the big time!"

Jessie states, "I'm listening."

"Alright, consider this. The Boss is the leader of an army of Pokémon, right?" As he's a saying this, an image appears of Giovanni overlooking a large number of various powerful Pokémon training by attacking punching bags. "Now of course, he needs to train those Pokémon, but who wants to volunteer their precious Pokémon to get pummeled by The Boss' primo Pokémon? That's where Apprentichick comes in. It always wants to battle, no matter who the opponent is." The scene now shows Giovanni watching Apprentichick battle a Nidoking. "The best part is, that Apprentichick knows its limit, so it will stop, so it can fight again another day. After seeing the perfect living punching bag, The Boss will surely say 'Meowth and friends gave me a way to train my Pokémon better. They deserve to be rewarded.' And then we'll be rich!" The fantasy ends.

Jessie and James appear to agree with Meowth. They all chant, "Catch the Apprentichick, then we'll get rich quick!"

Wobbuffet comes out and continues the chant, "Wobba, Wobba, Wobba!"

* * *

**Who's That Pokémon!?**

(That's right, I decided to try this out for fun. If you think it's too silly, just skip it. If you want to play along, just read the provided Pokédex description, and guess which Pokémon I'm describing. The answer will be given during the next break.)

**Thanks to its gargantuan jaws, which could shred thick metal plates as if they were paper, this Pokémon was invincible in the ancient world it once inhabited.**

* * *

The group is now on the outskirts of town. Ash looks down. He says, "I can't believe it. We were having such a great battle, why would it run away like that?"

Brenda jokes, "Maybe it didn't like you?"

Brock says seriously, "Like I said before, that's not normal behavior, even for Pokémon like an Apprentichick."

Brenda points up in the sky, "Hey, look at that!" She's pointing at a big group of Pokémon flying above. In a large circle are various bird Pokémon, such as Pidgey, Hoothoot, Taillow, Starly, Pidove, and Fletchling. In the center of the circle are two Pokémon facing off, a Pidgeot and the Apprentichick. She asks, "Who's that Pokemon?" and pulls out a pink Pokédex.

It says in a female voice, "Pidgeot, the Bird Pokémon and a Flying and Normal combo type. Pidgeot have the ability to fly at speeds up to Mach 2. Its wings are so powerful that when taking off, it blows away anything not attached to the ground. Evolves from Pidgeotto at Level 36."

Brock exclaims, "It looks like those two are battling!"

The Apprentichick makes the first move and charges at Pidgeot with a Wing Attack. The Pidgeot uses a Wing Attack of its own. The two collide in midair. The Pidgeot turns around and goes in for another Wing Attack, Apprentichick is too slow and gets hit. It falls towards the ground and lands with a thump. All of the bird Pokémon make noises as if they're laughing at it. Pidgeot turns and flies away. The rest of the flock follows.

Ash runs over to where Apprentichick fell. He looks down at it and asks, "Apprentichick, are you okay?"

It wakes up and sees Ash. It angrily shouts, "Apprentichick!" and launches a Gust attack at Ash, knocking him back. It then flies away.

Brock and Brenda run over and help Ash up. Brock says, "I get it now. It looks like Apprentichick wants to join that flock of Flying-Type Pokémon, but the initiation requires it to battle that Pidgeot. It's been training to raise its strength. It all makes sense now."

Brenda says, "I feel so bad for it. I wish that there was something we could do for it."

Ash states, "We've got to go back to the town."

Brock asks, "Why?"

"No one understands why it's doing what its doing. I want a chance to talk to it. Maybe I can convince it to train somewhere else, somewhere it won't bother people."

Brock and Brenda nod. Brock says, "Alright, let's do it."

* * *

**It's Tyrantrum!**

* * *

Ash, Brock, and Brenda have made it to the center of the town. There seems to be a gathering of people. In front of them all is a raised platform with an official looking man in a suit standing on it. The man announces, "People of Aster Town, I have wondrous news! For too long now our town has been pestered by a certain, annoying, bird Pokémon. I, the mayor of Aster Town, am here to tell you now that we finally have a solution. I present to you the kind folks from Rocket Extermination!" Out on to the stage walk three people. Two tall, a guy with blue hair and a girl with red hair, and one short guy, with no hair, and oddly colored skin. They're all dressed in grey jumpsuits. "These kind people have offered to rid us of our problem."

The girl with red hair grabs the microphone from him and adds, "For a modest fee of course."

"Um…yes…of course. Anyways, we won't have to deal with that annoying Apprentichick ever again!"

Ash climbs up onto the stage and shouts, "No, you can't do this!"

The mayor tilts his head and asks, "Is something wrong young man?"

"Give me the chance, I think I can convince Apprentichick to leave your town alone…and I'll do it for free!"

The blue haired one says with outrage, "What?! Why would these kind people ever want a twerp - I mean young man - to do this instead of us, we're professional."

The short one adds, "Yeah! What he said!"

The mayor thinks it over. "Hmm…How about a contest!? Whoever can solve our problem faster gets to use their method!"

The red haired one shouts, "What?!"

She is pulled aside by the other two. The short one whispers, "Don't worry about it, I have a mech for this. There's no way the twerps could beat us." They all nod. The short one then says to the mayor, "Okay, we accept your challenge."

"Good, good! And you boy?"

Ash states, "I accept."

"Okay then, start at your convenience!"

* * *

Ash and the gang are now walking through the town. Ash calls out, "Apprentichick!"

Brock and Brenda also call, "Apprentichick!"

Brock stops and thinks aloud, "Hmm…I have an idea. I happen to have some Flying-Type Pokémon food. Maybe if we put some of that out, it will attract Apprentichick."

Brenda exclaims, "Good idea Brock!"

Brock pulls off his backpack and takes out a can of food and pours it into a bowl. He sets the bowl out and then the three of them hide behind a nearby car. After a few moments of waiting, the Apprentichick perches next to the bowl and starts pecking at the food.

Ash whispers, "It worked!" He runs out from behind the car and shouts, "Hey, Apprentichick, I want to talk to you!"

The Pokémon is startled by Ash and flies up a little. Upon seeing Pikachu, it lands again, and goes into a fighting stance. "Apprenti! Apprenti!"

Ash asserts, "I'm not here to battle! We need to talk! There are people who want to hurt you after you!"

"Apprentichick!"

Suddenly a voice over a loud speaker announces, "Too late!" Down the street comes marching a giant humanoid robot. One of its hands is a net and there's a glass dome covered cockpit on top of its head. The glass retracts to reveal the three "exterminators" that are sitting inside of it. The red-haired one says, "Hand over the Pokémon!"

Ash, Brock, and Brenda get in front of Apprentichick. Ash says, "We'll never let you take Apprentichick!"

Brock says, "Yeah, you guys are nothing but trouble!"

The two taller ones twitch. The blue haired one asks, "Did…he just…say…trouble?"

Brenda adds, "Yeah, and you might as well make it double!"

The red haired one says, "Prepare…for…trouble…"

The blue haired one says, "Make…it…double…"

The red one shouts, "I can't take it anymore!" She throws off her jumpsuit, revealing her to be Jessie. "Prepare for trouble!"

The blue haired one throws off his jumpsuit, and is in fact, James. "And make it double!"

"To protect the world from devastation!"

"To unite all people within our nation!"

"To denounce the evils of truth and love!"

"To extend our reach to the stars above!"

"Jessie!"

"James!"

"Team Rocket blasts off at the speed of light!"

"Surrender now or prepare to fight!"

Instead of saying his line, Meowth, now out of his costume, whacks the two of them on the back of the head and says, "You guys are morons!"

Ash shouts, "Team Rocket!"

Brock asks, "These guys are still following you around Ash?" Ash nods.

Brenda, who is confused, asks, "I don't get it. Who's Team Rocket?"

Ash explains, "They're a group of bad guys who are always chasing me, trying to steal Pikachu."

"That's awful!"

Jessie says, "Why thank you. We take pride in our despicableness."

James says, "Well you don't need to worry about us taking Pikachu, we're here for the Apprentichick!"

Meowth adds, "Yeah, and we're going to get it!" He presses a button and the arms of the robot extend out towards them. The normal hand swats Ash, Brock, and Brenda back, while the net hand catches Apprentichick. Meowth states, "Good luck getting out of that net, its designed so you can't break out of it!"

Ash shouts, "Apprentichick, no!" The Pokemon struggles to get out of the net, but it can't. "Pikachu, use Thunderbolt!"

Pikachu jumps forward and attacks. The bolt hits the robot, but does nothing.

James laughs, "Hah, do you really think that we would forget to pika-proof our mech!?"

Ash looks angered. "Pikachu, Iron Tail on the net!"

Pikachu jumps at the net holding Apprentichick, "Chu, pika!" and manages to cut it open and Apprentichick flies out.

Team Rocket gasps. Jessie asks, "Hey, I thought you said that that net couldn't be broken out of!"

Meowth is embarrassed. "I said you couldn't break _out. _I never said anything about breaking _in._"

Apprentichick cries in challenge, "Apprentichick!"

Ash shouts, "Apprentichick, if you want to beat Team Rocket, listen to me!" It looks at Ash and nods. "Alright, Apprentichick, Wing Attack!" The Pokémon dives at Team Rocket's mech. The arm that isn't broken raises and tries to swat at Apprentichick. "Now, use your Aerial Maneuvers!" The Pokémon vanishes from sight, avoiding the arm, and then reappears behind the mech. It slashes at it with its wing, then repeats two other times at different angles. A triangular section of armor falls off. The mech turns around to try to stop it, but expose the new weak spot to Ash. He smiles. "Perfect. Pikachu, Volt Tackle!"

Pikachu begins to run at the weak spot and becomes covered in electricity. "Pika pika pika pika pika pika pika chu!" It rams into the exposed area, causing the mech to explode. Team Rocket is sent flying by the shockwave.

As they're flying off, they shout, "Looks like Team Rocket's blasting off again!"

Ash shouts, "Great Pikachu!" He looks towards Apprentichick, who's flying towards him. "You too."

It says happily, "Apprenti!"

Ash looks at it for a few seconds and then says, "Hey, you and I make a pretty good team. I know that you want to get strong and join that flock of Pokémon." It nods its head. "I may not be the same as the flock, but I can help you get stronger. Why don't you come with me? We can train together, and maybe someday we can come back here, and you can have a rematch with that Pidgeot."

It thinks it over, and then nods its head. It exclaims, "Apprentichick!" happily.

Ash pulls out a Pokéball and throws it into the air. Apprentichick flies up and meets the button on the Pokéball, sucking it in. The ball falls back down to Ash and wiggles in his hands. After several shakes, the ball clicks. Ash holds the Pokéball towards the sky and poses. He shouts, "I just caught an Apprentichick!"  
Pikachu adds, "Pik pikachu!"

Brock smiles. "That's great Ash!"

Brenda adds, "Yeah, amazing. I feel like that Apprentichick was meant to be with you."

The three turn around and start to leave the town. A voice shouts, "Wait!" They turn around to see the mayor running towards them. He catches up with them and says, "That was brilliant! I watched the whole thing over security cameras. I can't believe that I almost hired criminals to do that job. Thank you so much. You have done a great service to our town."

Ash smiles and says, "I'm pleased to be of service."

The mayor nods and turns back around to leave. Ash, Brock, and Brenda continue out of the town.

_ And so our heroes leave Aster Town having gained a new friend in the form of a very determined Apprentichick. How will this new Pokémon effect their journey? Find out, as the journey continues._

**To Be Continued…**


	4. Episode 4: Food for Naught

Episode 4: Food for Naught

Team Rocket is in the middle of a forest clearing, huddled in a circle. Jessie complains, "I'm hungry, where's lunch?"

Meowth pulls out a bag of chips. "This is what we got."

James looks happy, "Oh goody, I love chips!"

Jessie says, "Well too bad, they're mine." She grabs them out of Meowth's paws.

Both Meowth and James shout, "Hey!"

Jessie is stuffing the chips from the bag into her face. She mumbles with her mouth full, "I need these to keep up my figure."

James leaps for the bag, "No you don't!" He tries to grab the bag, but Jessie holds it up too high for him to grab it.

Meowth insults, "If you want to keep your figure, you should be eating less of those things, not stuffing your face!"

Jessie appears offended. "Are you calling me fat!?"

James comes in, "Maybe he is!"

"Why I never! How could you!?"

Meowth and James leap at Jessie and the three of them get into a brawl that results in a giant cloud of dust forming around them. Meanwhile, the chips are tossed out of the fight and land on the ground near by. The three continue to fight, not noticing.

At the same time, a Pokémon walks in curiously. It's a short little thing that looks similar to a chipmunk. Its brown with one big white stripe going down its back and a small, but bushy tail. It also has large front teeth. Around its neck is a collar. It pokes its nose at the chip bag and finds its way in. When it pulls its head back out, its cheeks have expanded and puffed out, apparently having stored all of the chips in side of them. It looks curiously at Team Rocket.

That's when James pokes his head out of the dust cloud and sees the Pokémon. He shouts, "Thief!" The fight instantly breaks up and the three look at the Pokémon.

The Pokémon in one gulp swallows all of the chips and smiles. While tilting its head to the side it says, "Munch? Chip?"

Hearts appear in Jessie's eyes. She shouts, "Cutie!" and runs over to it, scooping it up in her arms. "Why aren't you the cutest little thing I've ever seen!"

James storms over to Jessie and says angrily, "Might I remind you, that cute little thing just ate our lunch!"

Meowth extends his claws and says, "Yeah, now it owes us a bunch!"

Jessie says, "I don't care if it ate our brunch!" She nuzzles it. "It's just too cute to be angry at."

James and Meowth both shout, "Get it!" and lunge towards Jessie and the Pokémon. It jumps out of Jessie's arms and on to her head. It then leaps off and runs back into the forest. James and Meowth land on top of Jessie.

* * *

Ash, Brock, and Brenda have set up camp in the woods next to a stream. All of their Pokémon are out and about. _We now find our heroes taking a break_ _and getting some well deserved rest. I'm sure I'm not the only one who knows what's on a certain young trainer's mind right now._

Ash is sitting at a table. His stomach rumbles. He asks, "Hey, Brock, when's the food going to be ready?"

Brock turns from his work and smiles. "Almost Ash, don't worry."

Ash turns around and looks at Brenda, who's sitting across from him. "You're going to love Brock's cooking. It's the best. I've missed it."

Brenda responds, "I hope so, I'm starving too."

Pikachu and Kappaqua are chasing each other around while Apprentichick watches from a short distance. Blissey is helping Brock cook. Brock walks over towards the playing Pokémon with three bowls of food. He says, "No need for the Pokémon to wait, their food is ready now." Brock sets down the bowls and the Pokémon come to eat. He then grabs an extra bowl for Blissey."

Kappaqua sits down in front of its bowl and picks up a piece of food with curiosity. It throws it in its mouth, and then smiles. "Qua!"

Brenda says, "Wow Brock, Kappaqua loves your food."

Brock responds, "Oh, it's nothing special."

Ash says, "He's just being modest. You see, before Brock became a Pokémon doctor, he wanted to be a Pokémon breeder. He was the best I knew, and still knows all the tricks of the trade." Ash looks over towards Blissey and asks, "Hey Brock, what happened to your other Pokémon, Croagunk and Sudowoodo?"

"They're back at the Pewter Gym with my mom and dad."

Brenda questions, "Pewter Gym?"

Ash answers, "Oh yeah, before Brock was a breeder, he was the Gym Leader at Pewter City, back in the Kanto Region, that's how we met." Ash thinks for a moment. "Speaking of gyms, I don't even know what gym I'm heading to first."

Brock suggests, "According to what I've heard, the closet gym would be in Crater Town."

Brenda shakes her head. "No, that wouldn't work. The only way to get to Crater Town is through the Crater Gate Caves, and there was recently a cave-in that's blocking anyone from getting to Crater Town the normal way. I say we should go to Horizoport City. It's the biggest, and only, city on Tenno Minor, and the gateway to Tenno Major, where you'll find more even more gyms."

Ash nods. "Alright then, Horizoport Gym it is."

Apprentichick is pecking at its food. It hears the cry of another Pokémon and looks up to see several Pidgey and a Pidgeotto flying overhead. While it's looking up, a shadowy figure dashes past its food bowl, taking all of the food, and then dashes away. Apprentichick looks back down to see an empty bowl. It looks at Kappaqua, sitting next to it, and shouts with anger and challenge, "Apprenti! Apprenti! Apprentichick!"

Kappaqua looks back at it with confusion. "Kappa?"

"Apprenti!" Apprentichick lunges one of its talons at Kappaqua, who dodges out of the way.

Pikachu tries to get between them. "Chu pika chu!" The two look angrily at each other.

Meanwhile, the same shadowy blur comes in and takes the food from Pikachu and Kappaqua's bowls. Both notice and cry out in surprise.

Ash gets up from eating his food and walks over. "What's wrong guys? Do you need more food?"

Pikachu points at his bowl. "Pika pika pika!"

Ash looks at him puzzled. "You're telling me that someone stole all of your food?"

"Pik." Pikachu nods.

"Hmm…"

Just then it can be heard, "Blissey!"

Everyone turns to see Blissey has grabbed the Pokémon seen before, its cheeks stuffed with food. It struggles. "Chip chip chip chip!"

Ash pulls out his Pokédex. "Chipmunch, the Cheek Pouch Pokémon and a Normal-Type. The cheeks of Chipmunch are able to stretch out to ten times their normal capacity in order to carry food. Chipmunch are almost always hungry and spend most of their waking hours in search of food. They carry food in their cheek pouches the few times when not hungry, storing it for later. Evolves into Squirrelutton at level 15."

Blissey is scolding the Pokémon, "Blissey, bliss, blissey."

Ash asks, "Did you steal their food? That's not nice."

Brenda adds, "Yeah, how would you feel if we stole your food?"

Brock carries over a stack of bowls filled with more Pokémon food. "Don't worry about it, we have plenty of food." He places another bowl of food in front of Pikachu, Kappaqua, and Apprentichick. They dig in. He also places another bowl next to Blissey. "Blissey, why don't you put down Chipmunch and let it eat?" Blissey slowly lowers Chipmunch and places it next to the bowl. Chipmunch starts to eat away. "See, there's enough for everybody."

Brenda asks, "What do you think it's doing here?"

Ash answers, "Looking for food, no doubt about it."

Brock notices the collar around its neck. "Look at that, this Pokémon must belong to someone."

Ash notices it as well. "Oh yeah." He kneels down in front of it and asks, "Hey there, are you lost?" It stops eating for just long enough to shake its head no. "So you know how to get back home?" It nods.

Brenda suggests, "Well we can't just leave it out here. If it knows its way home, maybe we go with it there."

Brock says, "I don't see why not."

Behind all of them is a bush. Out of it pokes the head of the Turcell from before. It observes them for a few moments, and then ducks back in.

* * *

**Who's that Pokémon!?**

**This Pokémon can manipulate an opponent's memory. Apparently, it communicates by flashing its three different-colored fingers.**

* * *

The group is now packed up and walking through the woods. Chipmunch leads the way. Ash asks, "Chipmunch, are you sure this is the way?"

It faces Ash and nods. "Munch."

After walking a little further, they hear the voice of a younger girl shouting, "My darling Chipmunch, there you are!" Running in comes a young girl dressed in a white and pink dress. She grabs a hold of the Chipmunch and cuddles it. She looks towards Ash, Brock, and Brenda. "Did you three find my precious Chipmunch?"

Ash answers, "Yeah, it kind of came to our camp and ate some of our Pokémon's food."

The girl bows. "I'm so sorry. I hope he wasn't too much trouble."

Brock says, "Not at all, we gave it some food of its own, and it hasn't bothered us since."

"That's good. My name is Alice. And of course you've already met my Chipmunch."

"Hi, I'm Ash, from Pallet Town, and this my partner Pikachu. These are my friends Brock and Brenda."

Both say at once, "Nice to meet you."

Brock asks, "Why was your Chipmunch out in the forest? It told us that it wasn't lost."

The girl laughs awkwardly. "Yeah, my little Chipmunch has a great big appetite, so sometimes when it gets hungry, it will wander out in search of food. It always comes back of course." She looks at Chipmunch and then exclaims, "Hey, I have an idea! You guys are Pokémon trainers, right? Why don't we have a battle?"

Ash steps forward. "Yeah, I never turn down a challenge!"

Brenda also steps forward and pushes Ash back. She says, "Get in line. Kappaqua and I haven't had a real battle yet, why don't you let us go first?"

Ash looks a little disappointed. "Okay…fine…"

Alice beckons them forward. "Come on, I know a good place for battles nearby."

* * *

**It's Beheeyem!**

* * *

Alice leads the group into a clearing. The floor is covered in grass and wild flowers, and a stream bisects it. Alice says, "Here we are, my personal battle ground."

Brenda says, "This is perfect. I'm ready for our battle."

Brenda and Alice move to opposite sides of the clearing. Brock steps between them and states, "I'll be the referee, if you don't mind."

Brenda says, "Sure."

Alice adds, "Of course."

Brock holds up his arms and announces, "This will be a one-on-one battle, no substitutions. The first trainer to knock out her opponent's Pokémon will be the winner. Begin the battle!"

Alice shouts, "Go my wonderful Chipmunch!"

Chipmunch leaps out in front of her. "Chip!"

Brenda throws her Pokéball. "Kappaqua, center stage!"

Kappaqua emerges ready for battle. "Kap kappa kap!"

Alice shouts, "We'll make the first attack! Chipmunch, use Hyper Fang!" Chipmunch's front teeth grow larger and glow. It runs at Kappaqua.

"Kappaqua, stop it with Confusion!" Kappaqua's eyes glow purple, and so does Chipmunch, which is stopped in its tracks and lifted up into the air. "Now hit it with your Water Gun!" Kappaqua then blasts a torrent of water from its mouth, hitting Chipmunch directly, knocking it backwards.

"Chipmunch, into the trees!" Chipmunch effortlessly climbs up a nearby tree. "Now use Stockpile!" Chipmunch sucks in air into its mouth, puffing up its cheeks.

"Kappaqua, hit it out of the trees, Aqua Bomb!" Kappaqua generates several orbs of water in front of it and shoots them at Chipmunch. However, Chipmunch manages to avoid the attacks by hiding behind various branches in the trees.

On the side lines, Brock nods. "Clever."

Ash asks, "What?"

"Brenda's using Aqua Bomb. You see, when Chipmunch used Stockpile, it raised its Defense and Special Defense. Now Brenda's countering with a move that could lower both of those stats back down."

Alice commands, "Chipmunch, let's use Stockpile again!" Chipmunch sucks in more air, swelling its cheeks further.

Brenda shouts, "Keep up the bombardment!"

"Aqua!" Kappaqua continues to fire its exploding water balls at Chipmunch, who continues to dodge.

"Now Chipmunch, Spit Up!" Chipmunch opens its mouth, and unleashes a massive beam of energy at Kappaqua, hitting it dead on.

"Kappaqua, catch yourself with Confusion, then Aqua Bomb!" Kappaqua stops itself from flying backwards with its Confusion attack, then instantly unleashes another Aqua Bomb, this one hitting Chipmunch out of the tree, causing it to fall.

"Quickly Chipmunch, another Stockpile!" Chipmunch fills its mouth again.

Brenda warns, "Watch out, another Spit Up is coming!" Kappaqua readies itself.

"Now Chipmunch, Swallow!" Chipmunch gulps down what it has stockpiled, and glows momentarily. Alice explains, "The energy gathered from Stockpile can either be used to attack with Spit Up, or to heal with Swallow."

"Looks like we have to start over, Kappaqua, give it another Water-"

Brenda is cut off when a mechanical arm reaches out and grabs Chipmunch, pulling it up into Team Rocket's balloon. Alice shouts, "Chipmunch!"

Brenda sounds annoyed, "Not you guys again!"

Jessie laughs. "Yes, us again!"

James adds, "And we're here to win!"

Meowth finishes, "So you might as well give in!"

Alice asks, "Who are you people?"

Jessie begins, sounding infatuated, "Prepare for trouble, you're so cute indeed!"

James continues, sounding angry, "Make it double, you stole all of our feed!"

"To protect the world from major cuties!"

"To unite all those who are foodies!"

"To denounce the evils of cuteness and adorability!"

"To punish those who follow gluttony!"

"Jessie!"

"James!"

"Team Rocket blasts off at the speed of light!"

"Surrender now or prepare to fight!"

"Meowth, that's right!"

"Wobbuffet!"

"Mime, mime!"

Alice demands, "Why did you take my Chipmunch!?"

James answers, "It stole our lunch! You really should learn how to control your Pokémon better!"

Jessie, who's holding Chipmunch, adds, "Not to mention this Pokémon is the cutest of the cute, and I'm claiming it as my own!"

"You thieves!"

Meowth smiles. "We take that as the highest compliment."

Ash runs forward and Pikachu leaps off of his shoulder. Brenda and Kappaqua also prepare to fight.

Jessie and James through their Pokéballs. "Go Repiv!"

"Go Haking!"

"Repiv, use Poison Sting!" Repiv shoots hundreds of poisonous needles at Pikachu.

"Pikachu, dodge!" Pikachu leaps out of the way.

"Haking, use your Sludge Bomb!" Haking fires several balls of sludge at Kappaqua.

"Kappaqua, use Confusion to catch the Sludge Bomb!" Kappaqua catches the attack and sends it back at Haking.

"Pikachu, Iron Tail on Repiv!" Pikachu slams Repiv with an Iron Tail, causing it to crash into Haking.

"Kappaqua, Aqua Bomb, now!" Kappaqua fires another bomb at the two enemy Pokémon, which sends them flying back into the balloon's basket. "Now, use Confusion to get back Chipmunch!" Kappaqua uses its psychic powers to levitate Chipmunch away from Team Rocket, and into Alice's arms.

Jessie shouts, "Hey, how dare you take my cutie!"

James shouts, "Stealers keepers!"

Ash looks at Pikachu. "Let's finish this off Pikachu! Thunderbolt!"

"Pikaaachuuuuuu!" Pikachu unleashes a massive bolt of lightning that hits Team Rocket, causing an explosion that results in Team Rocket flying away.

As they're flying, Jessie is crying. She wails, "My poor, poor Chipmunch! Why did we have to be separated!?"

James shouts at her, "How many times do I have to remind you?! It stole our lunch!"

"I can't stay angry at such a cute face!"

Meowth mumbles, "No wonder I have no problem being angry at you…"

Jessie shouts with anger, "What was that!?"

James sighs. "It doesn't matter because…"

They all say together, "We're blasting off again!"

* * *

Brenda and Alice shake hands. Alice says, "I guess our match is draw."

Brenda nods. "It would appear so. Your Chipmunch is really powerful."

"Thank you, so was your Kappaqua. I couldn't believe that was your first battle."

Brenda smiles. "We'll have to have a rematch next time we meet."

Alice nods. "For sure."

Brenda, Ash, and Brock begin to walk away into the distance, waving back at Alice, who in turns wave to them.

_ With her first battle behind her, Brenda is more sure than ever that she'll be a great Pokémon trainer and coordinator. How will she fare in the future? There's only one way to find out…stay tuned!_

**To Be Continued…**


	5. Episode 5: One Foot in the Cave

Episode 5: One Foot in the Cave

_ After a long journey, our heroes now find themselves at the entrance to a vast cavern system known as the Crater Gate._

Ash, Brock, and Brenda approach the entrance to a cave on the side of a mountain. Brenda explains, "This is it, the Crater Gate."

Ash asks, "Wait a second, didn't you say earlier that we couldn't get through the Crater Gate? You said that there was some sort of rock slide or something."

Brenda shakes her head. "Yes, I did say that, but there's still a detour. It will put us out in Route 3, which is on the way to Horizoport City."

Brock looks up from his guidebook. "She's right. There's an alternate path that should take us right where we need to be."

Ash starts to march for the cave. "Alright then, what are we waiting for? Let's go!"

A voice shouts, "Hold it right there young man!" Ash freezes in mid-stride.

Out from behind a rock formation comes three spelunkers. They are each dressed in rugged brown clothes fit for exploration and wear helmets with lanterns on them. They carry various tools, such as ropes, pick-axes, and flashlights. There is a man with blue hair, a girl with red hair, and a short man. Ash asks, "What is it?"

The blue-haired man asks, "Have you ever been in these caves before?" Ash shakes his head.

The short one asks, "And are you aware that it's people who have never been in this cave who are most likely to get lost?"

Brenda laughs awkwardly and shrugs. "It makes sense I guess."

The red-haired one says, "Only a fool would go into these caves without the proper guides."

Brock asks, "So are you saying that you're the proper guides?"

The blue-haired one runs up to him and forcefully shakes his hands, exclaiming, "Not at all sir! But since you suggested it, we'd be happy to show you the way through the caves!" He drags Brock in. The other two grab Ash and Brenda and drag them as well.

Brock can be heard saying, "Thanks…I guess."

* * *

The group is now trekking through the cave. The three guides are leading the way, slightly ahead of the rest of them. The short one whispers, "It's all going according to plan. Once we get into the next chamber, we'll be able to grab the twerp's Pikachu and get out on our preplanned, foolproof escape tunnel."

The blue-haired one whispers, "The twerps won't know what hit them."

The red-haired one nods. "We'll finally capture Pikachu."

A Wobbuffet comes out of the redhead's Pokéball. It exclaims, "Wobbuffet!"

The three, undeniably Team Rocket, stop in their tracks and looks of panic hit their faces. Jessie returns it to its Pokéball. Brock calls forward, "Hey, that looks like a very energetic Wobbuffet you have there."

Jessie turns around nervously and says, "Why…thank you." She gulps. "I can never get it to stay in its Pokéball…"

Ash laughs, "We know another Wobbuffet that acts just like that."

Meowth beckons them forward. "Cut the chitchat. We've got to keep on moving if we want to get out of here before nightfall."

After a little while of walking forward, the group makes it into a large chamber. There are several forks in the path. Team Rocket suddenly stops. James turns around and says, "Hey, I've got an idea! Why don't you twer- I mean guys- why don't you guys let out all of your Pokémon?"

Brenda asks, "That's a little odd, why would we do that?"

Jessie answers, "Up ahead are some spectacular cave formations. You wouldn't want your Pokémon to miss the spectacle, would you?"

Ash nods. "Alright, that makes sense." He pulls of a Pokéball from his belt. "Come on out Apprentichick!"

Brenda throws her Pokéball. "You too Kappaqua!"

Finally, Brock throws his, "And let's not forget Blissey!"

The Pokémon all say, "Apprenti!" "Aqua!" and "Blissey!" all at once.

Team Rocket turns away from the group and they all rub their hands together. Jessie says, "All according to plan."

James says, "Of that I'm a fan."

Meowth comments, "They're going straight into the fire from the pan."

They turn back around and James says, "Without further ado-" He is cut off by a loud rumbling sound.

Everybody turns in the direction of the tunnel that is producing the sound. Within a few moments, a hoard of Graveler and Golem rolling at them at high speeds appear. Ash, Brock, Brenda, and the Pokémon jump to the side, out of the their way. Team Rocket jumps up in terror and then runs down a tunnel, with the rolling Pokémon behind them. They shout, "Team Rocket's running off again!" They disappear from sight.

Brenda says, "That was odd."

Ash asks, "You don't think…?"

Brock shakes his head. "Nah."

Ash asks, "What do you think caused those Pokémon to stampede like that?"

Brock thinks it over. "I'd have to assume that they were running away from something…"

Another low rumble can be heard. Brenda looks back into the tunnel from before with horror she asks, "Something like those…?"

Brock and Ash turn around to see two Onix and a Steelix rampaging towards them. Once they make it into the chamber, they begin to unleash attacks, destroying everything in sight. Everyone runs off in a different direction. Brenda and Ash down one corridor, Brock and Apprentichick down another, Pikachu, Blissey, and Kappaqua down yet another.

* * *

Some time later, Ash and Brenda slow down and breathe deep, heavy breaths. Ash pants, "I…think…we…made it…away…"

Brenda also pants, "Yeah…I hope…so…"

They both collapse on the floor. After a few moments of resting, Ash looks around. He comments, "Hey, where's Brock, Pikachu, and the others?"

Brenda looks around too. "I don't know. We must have gotten separated from them when we ran from those berserk Pokémon."

Ash gets up and calls, "Brock, Pikachu, Apprentichick!"

Brenda calls, "Kappaqua! Where are you!?"

They listen for a few seconds. There's no response. Ash starts to walk forward. "There's only one thing we can do, keep on heading forward."

"Shouldn't we go backwards? So we can find all the others?"

Ash shakes his head. "Nah. Brock will know we're trying to go. I'm sure that we'll all be heading in the same direction. We'll meet him at the exit."

* * *

**Who's that Pokémon!?**

**A master of courtesy and swordsmanship, it fights using extending swords on its elbows.**

* * *

Brock stumbles and falls after running. He gets back up and brushes himself off. Apprentichick flies in behind him. Brock looks around. "Hmm…It would appear that it's just you and me."

It lands on his shoulder and nods. "Apprentichick."

Brock looks around. "And I'd say that we're good and lost."

"Chick."

"There were so many twists and turns along the way here, I doubt that we could find our way back. Maybe if we keep on moving forward, we'll find the others." He thinks for a second and then looks at Apprentichick. "Hey, Bird Pokémon like you are supposed to be good at navigating. Do you thin that you could scout ahead and look for the best path to follow?"

It nods and gives a determined, "Apprenti!" It then leaps off of Brock's shoulder and flies forward, out of sight.

Brock shouts, "Good luck!"

* * *

**It's Gallade!**

* * *

Now we find Pikachu, Kappaqua, and Blissey just finishing their run from the rampaging Pokémon. Kappaqua looks back behind it, in order to check that they are no longer be chased, and crashes into a rock. It falls back and starts to cry. "Kappa! Kappa!"

Pikachu and Blissey stop running. Pikachu approaches Kappaqua and helps it back up. It asks, "Pika pika?" as if to ask if it's okay. Kappaqua continues to cry.

Blissey steps forward and says confidently, "Blissey, bliss," and motions to itself, inferring that it means leave this to me. Pikachu steps aside and Blissey picks up Kappaqua then sits it down on a rock. She asks, "Blissey?"

Kappaqua points to its face. "Aqua…"

Blissey nods. "Bliss." The egg in Blissey's pouch begins to glow. She pulls out the glowing egg and then it floats towards Kappaqua and melts away into it, covering it in a similar glow. Almost immediately, Kappaqua stops crying. Another egg appears in Blissey's pouch. "Blissey."

Kappaqua smiles and says happily, "Kappa kap!" Kappaqua stands back up.

Pikachu runs forward a little bit and calls back, "Pik pikachu pik!" Blissey and Kappaqua follow.

* * *

Ash and Brenda have continued to walk through the cave. Ash is still calling, "Pikachu, Apprentichick!"

Brenda's shouting, "Brock, Kappaqua!"

Ash takes a seat on a nearby rock. Brenda sits down next to him. Ash asks, "These caves seem to go on for a long time. How many different paths do you think there are?"

Brenda shrugs. "I don't know. Normally if you just stick to the assigned path, it's not supposed to be that hard to get through. We didn't stick to that path though."

Ash thinks for a second. "I wonder if there's a way that we could send a signal to the others?"

Brenda thinks about that statement. "I think I've got an idea." She gets up and grabs two large rocks off the floor. She then starts to bang them on the wall, creating a slow and steady, yet repetitive clacking noise. She explains, "All of the various tunnels in the Crater Gate are interconnected. Each one should have several areas were they connect to others. It's a decent possibility that the sounds made by hitting the walls could easily travel to other tunnels."

Ash jumps up. "That's a great idea!" He grabs to rocks of his own and starts hitting the opposite wall with the same pattern as Brenda.

After a little while of doing that, Brenda stops and instructs, "Let's listen for a couple of moments. Maybe if Brock heard us, he'll respond in the same way." Brenda puts her ear up against the wall. Ash does likewise.

After a few moments, a low rumbling can be heard. Ash exclaims, "That must be him!"

Brenda taps the wall a couple more times, then stops to listen again. The rumbling is constant, and slowly growing louder. Brenda slowly says, "Um…Ash?

Ash looks at her and finishes, "That isn't Brock, is it?"

They both turn their heads in unison behind them. Coming towards them is the horde of Graveler and Golem. Both of them go wide eyed. They jump onto a rock formation, and the Graveler and Golem come rolling past them. Once they all pass, they both breath a sigh of relief.

After a couple minutes Ash realizes, "Wait a second, if those Rock Pokémon just passed us…"

Brenda finishes, "Then those Onix and that Steelix must not be far!"

As if on command, the rampaging Onix and Steelix come into view. "Oonnnnn!" The Steelix fires a beam of silver energy that destroys much of the room. The two Onix begin to smash everything in sight.

Ash shouts, "Come on, let's get out of here!" They jump off of the rock and start running away. The Steelix and Onix chase them.

Brenda asks, "Why do you think they're so angry!?"

"I don't know! I wish Pikachu was here, we'd just fight off these Pokémon!"

After running for a little while, they make it into another chamber. It seems to be a dead end. Ash and Brenda are cornered. The Onix and Steelix, despite having them trapped, don't seem to focus on them.

Brenda says, "There's nowhere we can go! We're trapped."

Ash shouts, "Pikachu, where are you!?"

* * *

Pikachu, Kappaqua, and Blissey are marching through their tunnel. Kappaqua is sitting on top of Blissey's head and Pikachu is leading the way. After walking for a little while, they make it to a dead end in the tunnel. Pikachu sighs, "Pika…" Then, a faint and indiscernible voice is heard. Pikachu's ears poke up into the air. "Pika?" It runs over to the wall. "Pika!" Pikachu prepares for an Iron Tail and starts slashing at the wall. "Chu pika!" It does so continuously, barely making a dent.

Blissey lowers Kappaqua from her head and sets it on the floor. She then steps forward and pushes Pikachu back. She makes motion as if cracking her knuckles. Then shouts, "Blissey!" Blissey begins to glow with white energy. It then begins to punch at the wall, annihilating it. After several pounds at the wall, it crumbles away, revealing the room with Ash, Brenda and the attacking Pokémon.

Pikachu runs in and uses Iron Tail on the closest Onix. "Chu pika!" It hits right on Onix's forehead.

Kappaqua uses its Water Gun on the other Onix. "Aqua!"

Then Blissey runs in and grabs the Steelix by the tail. "Blissey!" It then swings the Steelix around in circles throwing it into the two Onix.

After taking all of these hits, the Steelix and Onix slither away. Ash shouts, "Pikachu!"

Pikachu runs at Ash and jumps on to his shoulders. "Chu!"

Brenda runs over to Kappaqua, picks it up, and hugs it. "I'm glad that you're okay Kappaqua!"

Ash looks towards Blissey. "Alright, so Blissey's also here, but what about Brock, and Apprentichick?"

As if to answer him, it can be heard, "Apprentichick!" And then Apprentichick flies into view, followed close behind by Brock.

Brock shouts, "Hey guys!"

Ash and Brenda shout, "Brock!"

Brock makes it over to them. "Well, it would seem that you guys took care of the Onix and Steelix."

Ash denies, "No, it was all about the Pokémon. Your Blissey is as strong as ever."

Brock smiles. "Even stronger." He thinks for a couple of seconds. "So why do you think those Pokémon were freaking out like that?"

Ash and Brenda shrug.

* * *

Team Rocket is tiptoeing through the cave. Jessie whispers, "Prepare for Onix-sized trouble."

James whispers, "You might as well make that double."

"To protect ourselves from the dangers of a cave."

"To keep a low profile and make sure we're saved."

"To denounce the evils of rocks and snakes."

"To escape to safety, no matter what it takes."

"Jessie."

"James."

Meowth interrupts, "Will you guys be quiet? You don't want those Graveler, Golem, Onix, or Steelix to hear us."

Jessie and James nod. They both say, "Right."

James asks, "Say, have you two wondered why those Pokémon are attacking like there's no tomorrow?"

Jessie says, "Yeah, now that you mention it, it is a little strange."

Meowth grins and laughs awkwardly. "That might have been my fault." Jessie and James look at him. "You see, when I was digging our foolproof escape tunnel…I might have…kind of…sort of…disturbed an Onix nest."

Jessie demands, "So wait, it's your fault that those Onix chased those Graveler which chased us away from the twerps?" Meowth nods. Jessie grabs Meowth and starts to shake him. "Why you little…!"

James says, "Come on, let's settle down now. It's all in the past now."

Meowth struggles to say, "Yeah…what he said…"

Jessie sighs and puts him down. "What are we going to do now?"

James answers, "All we can do. We've got to get out of here."

A small Pokémon walks up behind them. It's a Turcell. It says curiously, "Tur? Cell?"

Jessie asks, "What's that?"

James pulls out a stack of cards and looks through them. He pulls out one with a matching picture. He exclaims, "It's a Turcell! They're very rare Pokémon given out to new trainers here in the Tenno Region!"

Jessie says, "You had me at rare!"

Turcell sits down and stares at Team Rocket with intense curiosity. "Turcell?"

Jessie slowly approaches it. She says in a calm voice, "Come here you little Turcell. Come to Aunty Jessie. I promise I won't hurt you."

Turcell sneezes. "Tur…cell!" When it does, a glob of molten lava is shot out of its mouth and lands at the feet of Team Rocket.

They look down at it. Slowly the molten material begins to melt through the floor. It makes it all the way through and reveals that there is another room below them. Jessie decides to make a leap for Turcell, but the sudden motion causes the weakened floor to crack beneath them and shatter. Team Rocket falls into the room below them.

Turcell stands back up and looks down into the hole. "Cell?" It then walks away.

Jessie shouts, "Where are you going!? You come back here! It's your fault we're down here, and you're going to fix it!"

Meowth says, "Sorry to burst your bubble Jess, but how is it supposed to do that?"

"I don't know!"

Then, a rumbling can be heard. Jessie's face goes pail. "Are you guys hearing what I'm hearing?" They both nod slowly.

The stampede of Graveler and Golem come rolling into the room above them. Several of them roll right down the hole. Team Rocket is now surrounded with nowhere to go by a horde of angry Graveler and Golem. They all collectively gulp.

* * *

Ash, Brock, and Brenda are back to trying to get through the cave. All of the Pokémon, except for Pikachu, are back in their Pokéballs. Brock says, "We can't be too far from the exit. At this point we've searched every branching tunnel, they all lead to dead ends. This has to be the main tunnel."

Brenda states, "I hope so…"

After walking for a little while longer, they make it into yet another chamber. In front of them is a young man. He has semi-pale skin and black hair that goes down to chin level. He wears dark grey military-like pants and a black shirt with a blue coat over it. In front of him is a Dratini and it appears to be fighting another draganoid Pokémon. It appears lizard-like in shape and is several feet from tail tip to head. Its body is positioned low, close to the ground, and it has a long tail. It's skin seems to be colored pitch black with the exception many glowing, white spots, giving its skin the appearance of the night sky. Several of the white spots are larger and brighter. These ones are spread out across the body at various points such as the ends of limbs or joints. If you connected them, they would form a stick figure version of the Pokémon.

The unknown trainer commands, "Dratini, Dragon Rage!"

Dratini leaps into the air and fires a ball of orange energy. The opposing Pokémon leaps out of the way of the attack.

Ash and Brenda each take out their Pokédexes. Ash points his at the lizard Pokémon. It says, "Galacerta, the Lizard Constellation Pokémon and a Dragon-Type. Galacerta spend the entire day living inside of caves. Only during the night do they go into the open in order to find food. Galacerta use the starry pattern on their skin to communicate with others. It is believed that Galacerta inspired the constellation Lacerta. Galacerta evolves into Serpenstar at level 30."

Brenda's Pokédex says, "Dratini, the Dragon Pokémon and a Dragon-Type. Dratini are one of the rarest species of Pokémon. They hide deep under water and are rarely seen on land. Dratini evolves into Dragonair at level 30."

Galacerta jumps and lets loose a stream of rainbow energy from its mouth, a Dragon Breath attack. The trainer commands, "Dratini, dodge it now!" Dratini squirms its way around the attack. "Now counter with another Dragon Rage!"

"Dratini!" The dragon Pokémon attacks once more with its ball of energy. This one hits. The Galacerta is knocked out.

The trainer enlarges a Pokéball and throws it. "Go, Pokéball!" The thrown Pokéball hits the fainted Pokémon and pulls it in. the ball wiggles several times and then clicks. The trainer picks up the Pokéball and says to himself, "Galacerta acquired." His Dratini slithers up to him and then leaps onto his shoulders, draping itself around his neck. He turns around and notices Ash and friends for the first time.

Ash exclaims, "That's an awesome Pokémon you just caught there! And you've got a Dratini as well!" The trainer grunts. Ash continues, "Hey, how about we have a battle?"

The trainer contemplates, "That depends. Do you have any Dragon-Type Pokémon?"

Ash shakes his head. "Not with me right now."

"Then you're not worth my time." He turns around and starts to walk away.

Brock steps forward, "Wait, do you know the way out of these caves? We're kind of lost."

The trainer scoffs, "Only a fool goes into caves that they are unfamiliar with without a Pokémon the knows Dig." He throws a Pokéball into the air and a Gible comes out. "Gible, use Dig."

"Gible!" The Gible starts to dig a tunnel down into the ground. After a few moments, the trainer jumps down the hole.

Brocks runs over to the hole, just in time to see it collapse in on itself. Brenda steps forward, "Well…he was a whole lot of help."

Ash also walks forward. He appears very annoyed. He grumbles, "Who does that guy think he his? What does he mean that I'm not worth his time?"

Brenda says, "Let it go Ash. He was obviously a big jerk."

Brock nods. "Yeah, _he_ wouldn't be worth _your_ time."

Ash shrugs. "Yeah, I guess."

Brock beckons ahead. "Come on. We've got to get moving if we want to get out of here." The group moves on.

* * *

After a while longer they finally see a light at the end of the tunnel. Brenda shouts, "There it is! The exit!"

They all run the rest of the way. Once they make it outside, they all rejoice. Judging by the light, it is currently sunset. Ash exclaims, "I don't think that I've ever been so happy to be outside!"

Brock smiles. "Yes, it's pretty nice. And looks like we've made it out just in time for dinner. Come on, let's find a place to set up camp." The group begins to walk away.

_ And so, after a long and grueling journey, our heroes have made it through the Crater Gate. One thing's for sure, they won't be becoming spelunkers any time soon!_

Suddenly Ash stops. He asks, "Hey guys, what about our guides? Do you think they made it out?"

Brenda says, "I wouldn't worry about them, they're professional."

"Yeah, you're probably right."

* * *

Team Rocket is huddled up in the center of the chamber they fell into. They are frozen with terror. Surrounding them are many angry Graveler and Golem. James says with fear, "What ever you do, don't move a muscle."

Jessie, equally as afraid, stammers, "I'm not in any hustle."

Meowth adds, "I just don't want to get into a tussle."'

The Rock Pokémon appear to be readying for an attack. All three shout at once, "Why us!?"

_ Stay tuned!_

**To Be Continued…**


	6. Episode 6: Picking a Meteorfight

Episode 6: Picking a Meteorfight

_ Tonight our heroes seem to have settled down and stayed up late to watch an amazing spectacle of nature. Let's join them…_

Ash, Brock, and Brenda are laying out on the grass on the top of a hill. They have a camp set up around them. They are next to a campfire that seems to have just been extinguished. The three have their eyes fixed on the night sky. The view changes to show the sky. It is a starry night. A shooting star flashes across the sky. Ash points up and exclaims, "Look! There's one!" Another one appears, then a third, followed by a fourth.

Brock says, "Wow, I've never seen such an active meteor shower before." Several more pass by.

Brenda smiles. "Didn't I tell you? Tenno has the best meteor showers in the world."

They continue to watch for a few moments. Shooting stars continue to fall. After a few more moments, a brilliantly bright one appears in the sky. Ash says excitedly, "Wow, that one's amazing!"

Pikachu, who was curled up sleeping nearby wakes up and pokes it nose into the sky, alert to something. "Pik?"

The shooting star stays in the sky longer than expected. It starts to grow larger. Brock states with some surprise, "Um…guys? Something's not right here."

It continues to grow even larger and brighter. It changes from a streak of light to a fiery orb, and it's heading right at them. They all gasp in surprise, get up, and run away. At this point the shooting star has become a meteor hurtling towards their campsite. Ash, Brock, Brenda, and Pikachu have made it a safe distance away. The meteor impacts right in the center of their camp and causes the ground to shake.

Ash cautiously approaches the wrecked campsite. Pikachu follows behind him. He looks into the camp, which now has a large crater. Ash walks up to the crater and peers down into it. In the center of it is a smoking meteorite a couple of feet in diameter. Ash looks over to the others and calls, "It's alright, come check this out!"

Brock and Brenda slowly approach. Brock gives an impressed whistle. "What are the odds that a meteor would fall right on top of our campsite?"

Brenda adds, "Yeah, what would have happened if we weren't watching the meteor shower?"

Ash jumps over the ridge of the crater and shouts, "Come on guys, let's get a closer look." He slides down the slope of the crater and approaches the meteorite.

Brock calls, "Ash, be careful!"

Ash looks back up. "Don't worry about me! It's just a rock after all." He gets even closer. He starts reach out to touch it when it starts to shake violently. Ash leaps back in surprise. Two eyes open up on the surface of the meteorite. Then a crack widens, looking more like a mouth now.

Brenda shouts in surprise, "What's that?!"

It continues to shake. To arms jet out of the top on either side, followed by two legs out of the bottom. Ash, who has run back to the top of the crater, shouts, "It's a Pokémon!" The Pokémon has retained it's primarily round shape. It has no torso, its face being its entire body. Its arms are positioned so that its shoulders are on top of its head.

Ash pulls out his Pokédex. "Meteorfight, the Space Warrior Pokémon and a Rock and Fighting combo type. Meteorfight are born in outer space and primarily live in the Asteroid Belt. They are masters of fighting in zero-gravity situations. Only occasionally will a Meteorfight land on Earth, making it a rare Pokémon to find. Evolves into Meteormight at level 34."

The Meteorfight is looking around with some confusion. With a sudden rage it roars, "Meteorfight!" It then leaps out of the crater an lands near Ash, Brock, and Brenda. It starts to stomp its feet and roar more.

Brock exclaims, "Something's wrong! That Pokémon's in pain!"

The Meteorfight charges at one of the tents and smashes it with its fist. With what seems like extreme anger it continues to destroy the tent, ripping it to shreds and smashing it to pieces.

Brenda, who sounds frightened, suggests, "Guys, I think we should get out of here." The group slowly backs away and hides behind a nearby bush.

For a while they watch as the Meteorfight smashes and destroys everything in their camp that wasn't already destroyed by the impact. After a little while, once everything has been destroyed, the raging Pokémon runs off in the opposite direction, knocking down trees and smashing bushes as it goes.

Brock and Brenda step out from behind the bush. Brock shakes his head. "Something was very wrong with that Pokémon. Maybe we should go after it."

Brenda notices that Ash isn't with them. She looks back behind the bush to see that Ash and Pikachu have fallen asleep. She yawns. "I don't know Brock, maybe Ash has the right idea. It's getting pretty late. I think we should just get some sleep while we have the chance, then we can go after it in the morning." She yawns again and lies down on the grass.

Brock shakes his head again. "I don't like this."

* * *

The next morning, Ash and Pikachu wake up at the same time. Ash looks around and sees Brock sitting, looking out in the distance, towards the direction that the Meteorfight ran. Ash gets up and walks over to Brock, Pikachu follows. Ash asks, "Did you sleep well Brock?"

Brock faces Ash and sighs. "No, I'm afraid not. I couldn't help but think about that Pokémon last night. I'd imagine that crashing to Earth has got to be a pretty traumatic experience."

Ash sits down next to Brock and looks at the trail of destruction left by Meteorfight. "What do you think we should do?"

"I don't know. Maybe it's in pain. If that's the case, I could help it."

Brenda has apparently woken up and joins them. "I'm sure you could."

Ash stands up. "Then that settles it. Let's go after it!"

Brock stands up too. "Alright!"

A voice from the distance calls out, "Hey you, over there!" Off in the distance a figure approaches. As he nears, his details can be better made out. He wears rugged, rough hewn, brown and tan clothes. He has a belt filled with various tools. His face is also rugged and with scraggy, brown hair. He looks like someone who spends most of his time outside. He then calls, "I have a question to ask you!"

He makes it close to them. Brock says, "What is it sir?"

The man says, "I've been told by a reliable source that a meteor crashed here sometime last night. You wouldn't happen to know where it landed, would you?"

Brock points towards their wrecked campsite.

The man's eyes widen. "My, my. You three seemed to have gotten pretty lucky…or unlucky, depending on how you look at it." He walks up the hill towards the crater.

Brock catches up with him and asks, "If you don't mind me asking sir, why are you looking for where the meteor landed?"

The man stops in his tracks. "Silly me. I forgot to introduce my self. The name's Crate. I'm a world renowned meteorite hunter."

Ash and Brenda catch up. Ash asks, "Meteorite hunter?"

Crate smiles. "I travel around the region, hunting for fallen meteorites. I sell some, but for the most part, I collect them. I just love the idea of actually having something in my possession that came from outer space. It's the closest that most people will ever get." He turns towards the crater and starts to head off. "Now, let's see that meteorite."

Ash, Brock, and Brenda look at each other for a moment, and then look back at Crate. They run after him. Ash calls, "Um, about that!"

Crate makes it to the ridge of the crater. He then looks back at them and asks, "Did you three already remove the meteorite?"

Brock shakes his head. "No, it sort of…removed itself."

Crate looks confused. "What do you mean?"

Ash exclaims, "The meteorite was actually a Meteorfight!"

Crate's eyes go wide. "That's no good…"

Brenda asks, "What is it?"

"Tell me, did it go crazy and destroy everything in sight?"

Brock nods and points towards its trail of destruction.

"Oh my. This is not good." He starts to run off in that direction. "It must be stopped.

Ash, Brock, and Brenda run after him. Brock asks, "What's the matter?"

Crate explains while still running, "Meteorfight come from outer space. They live their entire lives in a zero gravity environment. When the time comes that one falls to Earth, they first go through the traumatic experience itself of falling and crashing, then they are disoriented because they have never felt strong gravity. Meteorfight have been known to rage and destroy everything in sight for days after landing. I must stop it."

Ash gives him a thumbs-up. "We'll help you however we can."

Crate nods. "Good, I could use it." They run off.

Hiding behind a fallen tree is none other than Team Rocket. James asks, "Do my ears deceive me, or are the twerps looking for an alien Pokémon?"

Jessie grins. "Not only an alien Pokémon, but a power-packed alien Pokémon. Look at what it did here. If we could get our hands on it, we'd be unstoppable."

Meowth shouts, "No, absolutely not!"

James asks, "And might I ask why?"

Meowth closes his eyes and thinks. "Listen here. The Boss is a collector of rare and valuable things, right?" Jessie and James nod. "Well think about it this way. That Meteorfight is part-Pokémon, part-meteor, and meteors are rare rocks. Surely The Boss must have a rare collection of rocks on display." Meowth imagines Giovanni strolling along a hallway full of display cases with various gemstones and rocks of different shapes and sizes. "Now of course The Boss, being the busy man he is, can't watch over his precious collection all day and night, but someone needs to. That's were the Meteorfight comes in. It sits in the biggest pedestal of them all, doing nothing but looking like a rock from space. Then, when night comes, and a thieving thief sneaks his way in," the situation Meowth describes plays out, "that's when good old Meteorfight reveals his true colors and smashes that thieving thief. Then The Boss will come in and ask, 'What's all the commotion?' and upon seeing that Meteorfight has protected his precious collection, he'll say, 'Why this Meteorfight given to me by Meowth and friends is the only rock I need. I know! I'll give the rest of them to Meowth and friends so that they can sell them and get rich!" Meowth's fantasy ends.

Jessie exclaims, "Everyone knows that precious rocks are a girl's best friend!"

James adds, "And if they make you rich, then they'll be this guy's best friend as well!"

* * *

**Who's that Pokémon!?**

**This is a new species of Pokémon that is said to have fallen from space. It floats in the air and moves silently. In battle, this Pokémon releases intensely bright light.**

* * *

Ash, Brock, Brenda, and Crate are crouched behind several rocks. Not far from them is the Meteorfight. It is still outraged, and attacking anything it sees. Crate says, "Alright, we're not that far from a town, so we've got to calm it down before it can get there and cause any real damage."

Everyone at once says, "Got it."

Brock asks, "What's the plan?"

"You guys may not like this, but I need to get close to it. That means I need a distraction."

Ash stands up. "Don't worry, we can do that, right Pikachu?"

Pikachu nods. "Chu."

Brock and Brenda stand up as well. Brenda says, "We're in too."

Crate nods. "Thank you guys. If you could just keep its attention off of me for just long enough, then I should be able to get close enough to calm it down. And keep your eyes out for it's Meteor Slam attack. It's a very powerful move that inflicts both Fighting and Rock-Type damage. It will curl up into a ball and send itself flying at you. It can be hard to avoid."

Ash says, "Let's do this." He leaps over the rock formation, waves his arms around, and calls, "Hey, Meteorfight, over here!"

The Meteorfight turns towards Ash and then roars, "Meteorfight!" It then leaps up into the air, retracts in it arms and legs, causing it float in the air, looking like a round rock with a face. It flies at high speeds towards Ash, who leaps out of the way just in time.

It prepares to attack him again, but that's when Brenda leaps out nearby and calls, "You can't catch me!" Meteorfight changes its attention to her, charging in her direction. She also manages to leap out of the way.

Now it's Brock's turn. He moves out from behind a tree and shouts, "Meteorfight!"

The Pokémon now turns to Brock and charges at him. Brock tries to get out of the way, but is too slow. Meteorfight hit's the bottom of his chin with an uppercut, which sends him flying into the air, landing a few meters away. He raises his hand into the air and says weakly, "I'm okay!"

Meteorfight is still looking in Brock's direction. That's when Crate leaps at it. Meteorfight looks up in surprise. Crate wraps his arms around it and says, "Meteorfight, calm yourself." He starts to rub the point where Meteorfight's left arm connects to its head, Meteorfight instantly calms slightly. "I would personally like to welcome you to our-"

He is suddenly interrupted by James commanding, "Haking, Sludge Bomb!" Several sludge balls are sent at Crate and Meteorfight, hitting them, and knocking them apart. Meteorfight begins to stomp its feet with renewed anger.

Crate demands, "What was that!?"

Team Rocket's balloon lowers from the sky. Jessie answers, "Prepare for trouble, it is us!"

James adds, "Make it double, I don't see what's the fuss!"

"To protect the world from devastation!"

"To unite all people within-!"

James is cut off by Meteorfight, who has now rolled back up, and sent itself flying at Team Rocket. This sends Team Rocket flying away. They all shout, "Team Rocket's blasting off already!"

Crate asks, "Who were they?"

Brock shouts, "No time, look over there!" He points towards Meteorfight, who's running towards the town. They all run off, after it.

* * *

**It's Solrock!**

* * *

Ash and the group are now near the outskirts of the town. They are between the town and Meteorfight. Crate says, "Alright, I hate to resort to this, but we're running out of time. We're going to need to use your Pokémon to stop it. Ash, Brenda, you two go in first, Brock, you hang back with me, in case I need your help." The three nod. "Alright, good luck."

Ash and Brenda move forward. Pikachu leaps off of Ash's shoulders and Brenda throws a Pokéball, releasing Kappaqua. Meteorfight instantly notices and charges at them. Ash shouts, "Iron Tail Pikachu!"

Pikachu readies its attack. "Chu pika!" It slashes its tail at Meteorfight, who in turn, punches with a glowing silver fist.

Brock exclaims, "That Meteorfight knows Meteor Mash! Be careful guys!"

Brenda shouts back, "Don't worry! Kappaqua, Water Gun!" Kappaqua sends a torrent of water towards Meteorfight, hitting it. However, it is quickly shaken off.

Ash shouts, "Thunderbolt now Pikachu!"

"Pikaaachuuuuuu!" Pikachu zaps Meteorfight, but does minimal damage. Pikachu keeps up the attack.

Brenda shouts, "Help out Pikachu, use another Water Gun!"

"Kappa pa pa pa!" Kappaqua starts another stream of water.

Meteorfight shouts, "Meteor!" and gets out of the way of the attacks. It then charges at Pikachu and Kappaqua, delivering several rapid fire punches to both of them, before sending them flying.

Crate states, "It knows Comet Punch too. That's a powerful Meteorfight alright."

Just then, a capsule comes down from the sky and is sent at Meteorfight in an attempt to capture it. Brock shouts, "Meteorfight, no!" and leaps towards it, getting scooped up as well.

Team Rocket's balloon descends from the sky once more. Jessie shouts, "Prepare for trouble, let's try this once more!

James continues, "Make it double, our motto is never a bore!"

"To protect the world from devastation!"

"To unite all people within our nation!"

"To denounce the evils of truth and love!"

"To extend our reach to the stars above!"

"Jessie!"

"James!"

"Team Rocket blasts off at the speed of light!"

"Surrender now or prepare for a meteorite fight!"

"Meowth, that's right!"

"Wobbuffet!"

"Mime mime!"

Ash shouts, "Team Rocket, you'd better give back Brock and Meteorfight!"

James questions, "Brock?" He peers over the edge of the balloon basket and sees Brock knocking on the wall of the clear capsule he and Meteorfight were caught in. He looks back up and says, "A little mistake. It would appear that in addition to our normal quarry, we also caught the tall twerp."

Jessie says, "Don't worry about him. We'll figure out what to do later. It's time to make our escape."

James nods. "Right." He pulls out a Pokéball. "Go, Haking! Use Smokescreen!"

Haking comes out of his Pokéball. "Haking!" Black smoke pours out of its mouths and holes, blocking Team Rocket from sight.

Ash can be heard saying, "Go, Apprentichick, clear out this smoke with your Gust!" The smoke starts to clear, thanks to Apprentichick's attack. Team Rocket is gone. "Thanks Apprentichick. Now I need you to go and look for Team Rocket's balloon. Can you do that?"

It affirms, "Apprenti!" and flies off.

Crate looks a little confused. Ash says, "Come on, let's follow Apprentichick, I'll catch you up on the way!"

Ash, Brenda, and Crate run off in the direction that Apprentichick flew.

* * *

Team Rocket has landed their balloon in a clearing in the forest. The capsule that caught Brock and Meteorfight is placed down next to the balloon. Meteorfight is rapidly punching the walls of the capsule, attempting to break out. Brock is sitting down. Jessie is peering into the capsule at Brock. She mocks, "That's what you get for trying to interfere with Team Rocket." She turns around and walks away. She then asks, "Since when was the tall twerp even back to traveling with the twerp?"

Meowth and James shrug. Meowth takes a turn to walk up to the capsule, but he focuses his attention on Meteorfight. He says, "Sorry pal, but that capsule was designed to withhold the force of a meteor's impact. There's no way you're breaking out."

It roars with rage, "Meteorfight!"

James asks, "What's it saying?"

Meowth answers, "I'm not sure, it's mostly a bunch of mumbo jumbo. Something about being in pain."

Jessie shrugs. "Who cares? All that matters is that we've caught our way to fortune. I'd say we celebrate with some food."

James exclaims, "Great idea! I just happen to have been saving these for a rainy day." He pulls out a bag of something.

Meowth and Jessie both exclaim, "Oh boy, chocolate!" They both rush over to grab some, and in the commotion, the bag is dropped.

Before anyone can grab it, a Munchlax runs in, grabs the bag, and runs away. Team Rocket notices and Meowth shouts, "Catch that Munchlax!" Team Rocket runs into the woods after it.

Brock gets up and says, "Alright, now's the chance to escape." He looks at Meteorfight, who's still using Comet Punch on the walls. He takes a deep breath. "Alright, here goes nothing." He leaps at Meteorfight when its facing away from him and begins to stroke the same spot that Crate was earlier. "Meteorfight, calm yourself." Meteorfight slows its attacks, and doesn't try to throw Brock off. "It would be my honor to welcome you to our world. I know that this must be a painful experience for you, but you must be calm. You will adapt to living on this world, under its gravity. I know you will. Please, be calm." Meteorfight completely ceases its punches. "That's it. It's okay. Be calm." Meteorfight suddenly plops down on the ground. Brock slowly removes his hand. "Are you okay now?"

The Meteorfight looks at him and nods. "Meteor."

"Brock nods back. "Alright, that's good. I'm glad you've calmed down." He observes the capsule and then pulls out a Pokéball. "Go, Blissey!" Blissey emerges. "Blissey, could you use your Strength attack on the wall?"

Blissey nods. "Bliss." It charges energy and a white aura surrounds it. It begins to rapidly punch at the wall, but does absolutely nothing.

"Brock nods slowly. "Alright, try your Mega Punch." He turns to Meteorfight. "And why don't you add your Meteor Mash?" Both Pokémon nod and begin to punch the walls with massive amounts of power. Still nothing. Brock thinks a little longer. His face lights up with an idea. "I've got it! We need to combine your two's power. Meteorfight, you prepare to use a Meteor Slam, then, before you use it, Blissey will throw you at the wall with her Strength. Can you two do that?"

Both Pokémon nod. Meteorfight retracts its limbs and hovers in front of Blissey who takes a hold of it. Blissey then begins to glow white again. "Blissey!" With all of its strength, Blissey hurls the other Pokémon at the wall. Meteorfight flies at high speeds and impacts, then crashes through the wall.

Brock cheers, "Yeah, great job!" He and Blissey jump out through the hole. "Come on, we've got to get out of here before Team Rocket gets back."

Jessie asks, "Before who gets back?"

Brock turns around to see Team Rocket standing on the edge of the clearing. James states, "How dare you break out of our escape-proof capture capsule?"

Meowth adds, "Now we'll have to punish you!"

Jessie and James throw Pokéballs, letting out Repiv and Haking. Jessie commands, "Poison Fang!" while James commands, "Sludge Bomb!"

Brock leaps out of he way of the Sludge Bomb, he then shouts, "Blissey, knock back Repiv with Mega Punch!" Blissey punches Repiv away.

Meteorfight, meanwhile, has been moving away, and has now almost left the clearing.

Jessie shouts, "Hold the twerpish Pokémon down with Wrap!" Repiv wraps itself around Blissey.

James commands, "Now Haking, rapid fire Sludge Bomb at the twerp!"

Brock dodges out of the way of several of the attacks, but one eventually hits him. He's knocked back. He shouts, "Blissey, can you break free!?" Blissey struggles to get out, but its no use. Haking moves in closer to Brock, ready to attack again. Brock shouts, "No!"

Meteorfight hears Brock's cry and turns towards him.

Haking prepares for another Sludge Bomb. Just as it's about to fire, it is hit by Meteorfight's Meteor Slam. It is sent flying towards Team Rocket. Brock exclaims, "Meteorfight, you came back!"

"Meteor!"

Just then, Apprentichick flies in overhead and Ash, Brenda, and Crate run into the clearing after it. Ash shouts, "Brock, are you okay!?"

"I'm fine Ash!"

Ash looks at Pikachu and says, "Come on buddy, let's get ready for a fight."

Brock holds up an arm. "No, Meteorfight and I got this one! Right?"

Meteorfight nods, "Meteorfight!"

"Meteorfight, use Comet Punch on Repiv and free Blissey!" Meteorfight runs at Repiv and hits it with several rapid fire punches, causing it to loosen its grip on Blissey. "Now finish it off with a Meteor Mash!" With a glowing, silver fist, Meteorfight punches Repiv, sending it crashing into Team Rocket. "Now, hit them all with a Meteor Slam!" Meteorfight curls itself up and hurls itself at Team Rocket, hitting the ground right next to their feet, which causes a shock wave that sends them flying into the air.

Team Rocket shouts, "We're blasting off for the second time!"

Ash, Brenda, and Crate approach Brock, Meteorfight, and Blissey. Crate says with amazement, "Wow, did you really manage to calm down this Meteorfight by yourself?"

Brock nods. "I remembered what you were doing before, and I did it myself."

Brenda exclaims, "That's amazing!"

Ash comments, "Yeah, and you seem to have a great bond with it already."

"We do, don't we Meteorfight?"

It nods. "Meteor."

Brock kneels down and looks Meteorfight in the eyes. "Hey Meteorfight, would you like to come with me? I know that you're still not used to this planet, but I'm sure that I could help you."

Meteorfight thinks about it for a couple moments and smiles. "Meteor."

Brock pulls out a Pokéball and taps it against its head, pulling it into the Pokéball. It wiggles several times and then clicks. Brock holds the Pokéball into the air and exclaims, "I just caught a Meteorfight!"

Blissey joins in, "Blissey!"

Crate claps. "You've got yourself a powerful Pokémon there. After what you've done, I have no doubt that you can handle it."

Brock nods. "Thank you." He throws the Pokéball up into the air.

Meteorfight emerges next to Brock, and out of nowhere, it delivers an uppercut to the bottom of Brock's chin, sending him flying back several feet. It smiles and says happily, "Meteorfight!"

Brock weakly says, "I'm…okay…"

Everyone laughs. Ash says, "I guess that's how Meteorfight show affection." They continue to laugh together.

_ Now that Brock has a new partner and friend along with him on his journey, things are bound to be more interesting. Join us next time, as the journey continues!_

**To Be Continued…**


	7. Episode 7:Light at the End of the Forest

Episode 7: The Light at the End of the Forest

_ Continuing their journey to Horizoport City, our heroes now find themselves at the entrance to a vast forest._

Ash, Brock, and Brenda are standing at the boundary of a forest. Where they stand, the tree density is fairly low, but just a few steps more and it gets a lot denser. Brock, reading from his guidebook, says, "This place is called the Sol Forest. According to this, it's known as the Forest of the Midnight Sun."

Ash is confused. "That's a weird name. how could there be sun during midnight?"

Brock shrugs. "I don't know. It doesn't say here."

A female voice says, "That's an easy one."

The group turns around to see a girl walking towards them. She has long, green hair and wears simple brown dress. Brock's eyes go wide. He runs over to her and proclaims, "You may think that's an easy question, but I have one that should be so much easier! Are you the most beautiful thing I've ever seen my life? The answer is a resounding yes! Please, come with me and together we will find the answers to life's questions!"

Just as Brock's saying this, his Meteorfight lets itself out of its Pokéball and delivers an uppercut to Brock's chin, sending him flying away. It nods its head and says, "Meteorfight." Then it walks towards the knocked out Brock, taps its Pokéball on his belt, and returns to it.

The girl says, "Oh my."

Brenda laughs. "I guess that Meteorfight and Brock were meant to be together." She turns to the girl. "I wouldn't worry too much about that. It happens sometimes."

She nods. "Right."

Ash asks, "So you know why they call this place the Forest of the Midnight Sun?"

"Yes, of course. Sorry. They call it that because during the night, when the forest would normally be completely dark, due to the thick tree canopy, it's as bright as day because of all of the Light-Type Pokémon."

Ash is confused again. "Light-Type Pokémon?"

Brock springs up off the ground and says as if nothing had happened, "The Light-Type is a relatively new classification of Pokémon found here in the Tenno Region. They are characterized by the manipulation and creation of light."

Ash asks, "So it's a new type of Pokémon?"

Brock nods. "Actually, you've encountered Light-Type Pokémon before."

"Really?"

"Yes, Pokémon like Heliolisk, Starmie, Illumise, or Volbeat have recently been reclassified as Light-Types."

Ash nods. He looks at Pikachu. "You hear that, Pikachu? There's a whole new type of Pokémon for us to catch here in Tenno."

Pikachu nods. "Pika."

Brenda looks back at the girl, "So there are a lot of Light-Types in this forest?"

She nods. "Yes, it can be a wonderful sight. In fact, my family actually runs a rest stop nearby, and it's open to trainers who want to wait there until night so they can see the sight."

Ash smiles. "I think that would be great!"

Brock and Brenda nod as well. The girl says, "By the way, my name's Jillian."

Ash introduces himself, "I'm Ash, from Pallet Town, and this is my partner Pikachu."

"My name's Brock."

"And I'm Brenda."

Jillian bows. "A pleasure to meet you. Please, why don't you come with me?"

They all say at once, "Okay!"

* * *

It's night. Ash, Brock, and Brenda are standing outside of a small cabin. Jillian is standing with them. Jillian asks, "It's pretty dark out, would you like me to guide you to the forest entrance?"

Brock nods, "That would be great. Thank you very much."

Jillian pulls a Pokéball out and tosses it. Out comes a butterfly-like Pokémon. It has wings of white, with a yellow-gold pattern that glows brilliantly. It's compound eyes also glow, and the bottom portion of its abdomen glows in a way similar to a firefly. It lights up the area around it and sparkles. Ash exclaims, "Whoa, so that must be a Light-Type!"

He pulls out his Pokédex. "Glitterfly, the Bioluminescent Pokémon, and a Bug and Light combo-type. Glitterfly are often proclaimed to be one of the most beautiful sights of the Pokémon world. The light produced by their wings can be used to communicate with others across vast distances. Evolves from Chrysalux at level 10."

Brenda is an awe. "That's such a beautiful Pokémon you have."

"Thank you, we met in the Sol Forest many years ago." She turns to her Pokémon. "Would you mind using Flash to give us some light to see by?"

It says in a humming-like voice, "Glitterererfly!" The light its producing gets several times brighter, lighting up the immediate area around them.

Jillian starts to walk forward with Glitterfly following. "Come on, let's go!"

The group walks off.

Unbeknownst to them, hiding in the shadows nearby is Team Rocket. Jessie is staring in awe at the Glitterfly. James snaps his fingers in front of her face. "Hello? Earth to Jessie, Earth to Jessie, are you there?"

She knocks his hand away and says in a dreamy voice, "That was the most beautiful Pokémon I've ever seen."

Meowth asks, "Yeah, so what?"

She says with anger, "So what!? A beautiful Pokémon deserves a beautiful trainer!"

James looks around, "Okay, I don't see any nearby…"

She slaps him, knocking him back. "I'm talking about me you idiot, I'm the most beautiful trainer in the land. A Pokémon like that was meant for me. We need to catch it!"

Meowth and James nod. Meowth says, "I think we could handle that."

* * *

**Who's that Pokémon!?**

**This Pokémon's tail's tip shines brightly and can be seen from far away. It acts as a beacon for lost people. In the Tenno Region, this Pokémon becomes a Light-Type.**

* * *

The group now finds themselves back at the entrance to the forest. Even though it is nighttime, there's a bright light emanating from the forest. The group takes a couple of moments to observe the sight. After a little bit Jillian says, "I'd be more than willing to show you guys the way through if you'd like."

Ash says, "That'd be great. I've gotten lost in quite a few forests."

Brenda laughs, "Is that so? Even with Brock with you?"

Brock states defensively, "Hey, even the best of navigators get lost sometimes."

Jillian laughs. "Come on, let's go."

They walk into the forest. Just as its name might infer, it seems bright enough to be daytime, despite the dark outside. The leaves of trees themselves almost seem to glow.

A Volbeat and Illumise fly out of some bushes and begin to dance around each other in front of the group. Brenda pulls out her Pokédex. "Volbeat, the Firefly Pokémon, and a Bug and Light Combo-Type. Volbeat flash their tails in an attempt to attract Illumise. The brighter they flash, the more likely an Illumise will join them. Does not evolve."

"Illumise, the Firefly Pokémon, and a Bug and Light combo-type. Illumise aren't as efficient at creating light as their partners, Volbeat, so they instead use their sweet scent to attract mates. Does not evolve."

The two continue to fly around each other, apparently in a courting dance. Ash pulls out a Pokéball. "Alright, those are Light-Types! Let's catch one of them Pikachu!"

Pikachu jumps off of his head. "Pika!"

"Pikachu, use Thunderbolt!"

"Pikaaa chuuuu!" Pikachu launches a bolt of electricity at the two Pokémon, but misses. They fly away.

Brenda complains, "Ash, why'd you have to scare them away!? That was a brilliant show!"

Ash scratches the back of his head. "Sorry, but I've got to get myself one of these Light-Type Pokémon."

"Well do it on your own time. I was enjoying those Pokémon."

"Sorry…"

* * *

**It's Ampharos!**

* * *

The group is still trekking their way through the Sol Forest. Everywhere they look is a spectacular show of lights. Jillian says, "Alright, it shouldn't be too much further now, right Glitterfly?"

"Glittererererfly!" Glitterfly nods.

Brock says, "I don't know if I've ever seen such a lively forest before. Just imagine, all these tree's leaves appear to be glowing because there are glowing Pokémon hidden in the branches."

Ash slowly states, "Is that so…" He sneaks off and starts to climb a nearby tree. After a couple of failed attempts, he finally manages to get a good hold, and starts to climb. He pokes his head into the leafy section of the tree.

Brenda notices that Ash isn't with them anymore. She calls out, "Ash, where are you!?"

Startled, Ash falls out of the tree. Several Volbeat and Illumise fly out of the tree, startled by Ash falling. He quickly gets up. "Sorry." He catches back up with them. He whispers to Pikachu, "Don't worry, we'll find a Light-Type to catch sooner or later."

Pikachu smiles and nods. "Pik."

Brock asks Jillian, "So you seem to be pretty knowledgeable about this forest."

She nods. "Yes, my family has lived in that cabin for several generations. We've taken it upon ourselves to watch over it. As a child I would always play here. It was actually back then that I caught Glitterfly. Of course back then she was only a Glowva. I got lost in the forest once, and Glowva helped me get back out. Next time I went in to the forest, she was waiting for me. We quickly became good friends. It wasn't long until she evolved into a Chrysalux, and then a Glitterfly. When I was old enough to have my own Pokémon, she let me catch her. We've been together ever since, right Glitterfly?"

"Glitterfly!"

Brenda says, "That's a great story, isn't it Ash?"

Ash isn't listening. He's poking his head in a bush. Several Patrat, a Watchog, and a Sunflora are running away. He looks up, "What?"

Brenda laughs. "Nothing."

Jillian holds up her hands to get everyone to stop. Brock asks, "What is it?"

She points a little further up on the path and says, "We almost stepped on that little one."

In the middle of the path a small, caterpillar-like Pokémon. It is composed of orb-like segments, and is colored primarily white with a gold pattern on it. The final segment of its tail glows white. It's slowly inching itself across the path. Ash exclaims, "Alright, that's got to be a Light-Type!"

He pulls out his Pokédex. "Glowva, the Glow Worm Pokémon, and a Bug and Light combo-type. Glowva eat large amounts of leaves in their preparation to evolve. This grants it large amounts of energy, the excess of which is given off as light. Evolves into Chrysalux at level 7."

Ash pulls out a Pokéball. "Alright, this is it. There's no way that this Pokémon's going to get away from me!" Brenda holds her arm in front of Ash, blocking him. Ash complains, "What is it this time?"

She confidently states, "Let me have this one."

Ash and Brock both gasp. Ash asks, "But why?"

"Because Glowva will eventually evolve into Glitterfly. A Pokémon that beautiful would be an honor for me to train. Besides, you and Brock have already had an opportunity to catch a Pokémon. Why don't you give me a chance?"

Ash puts away his Pokéball. "Alright Brenda, good luck."

She nods and pulls out a Pokéball. "Kappaqua, center stage!" Kappaqua emerges. "Kappaqua, attack the Glowva with Water Gun!"

"Kappa!" A stream of water is sent at the caterpillar Pokémon.

The Glowva, which seems to not have noticed them until now looks at the attack with wide eyes. It is hit by the attack and knocked back. After recovering, it looks towards Kappaqua and fires a String Shot at it from its mouth.

Brenda shouts, "Kappaqua, stop the strings with Confusion!"

Kappaqua starts to gather its power, but a flash of light from the Glowva distracts it. The Glowva then hurls itself at Kappaqua, tackling it. Kappaqua shakes off the effects of the Flash.

"Alright Kappaqua, Aqua Bomb!" The Pokémon launches an orb of water that explodes upon hitting Glowva, knocking it back. "Alright, go Pokéball!" She throws a Pokéball. It pulls in the Glowva. Wiggles once…twice…three times…it clicks. She picks it up. "Alright, Glowva is all mine!"

Kappaqua cheers, "Kappa pa pa!"

Ash says, "Good job Brenda!" He mutters under his breath, "Of course I wanted that Pokémon…"

Brenda asks, "What was that?"

"Oh, nothing…"

She throws up Glowva's Pokéball. "Come on out!"

Glowva emerges. It contently states, "Glow."

Glitterfly flies over to it and happily says, "Glitter!"

Glowva smiles. "Glowva."

A giant bug net suddenly swoops down from the sky and scoops up the two bug Pokémon. The group gasps and looks towards the source of the net. It's a giant robot, made to look like a bug catcher holding the net. Jillian gasps, "What's that!?"

Team Rocket appears on the robot's head. They are all wearing sunglasses. Jessie declares, "Prepare for flashing trouble!"

James adds, "Make that a shining double!"

"To protect the world from luminescent devastation!"

"To unite all people within our glowing nation!"

"To denounce the sparkling evils of truth and love!"

"To extend our reach to the twinkling stars above!"

"Jessie!"

"James!"

"Team Rocket's lighting up the night!"

"Surrender now, our light might ruin your sight!"

"Meowth, that's bright!"

"Wobba!"

"Mime mime!" Wobbuffet and Mime Jr. are also wearing sunglasses.

Ash shouts, "Team Rocket!"

Jessie laughs, "Who else twerp?"

Jillian asks, "Who's Team Rocket?"

Brenda explains, "They're a group of no good Pokémon thieves who follow us around."

Meowth exclaims, "And these no good Pokémon thieves have captured two Light-Type Pokémon with one net!"

James explains, "Now we have one for Jessie's ego, and another for The Boss."

Jessie says, "Yeah, one for my ego- One for my ego!? What's that supposed to mean!?"

Meowth and James frantically say, "Oh nothing…"

Jillian demands, "Give me back Glitterfly now!"

Jessie scoffs, "I don't think you're in the position to make demands."

Ash steps forward and Pikachu leaps to the ground, ready to fight. Ash begins to shout, "Pikachu, use-!"

He's cut off by Brock, "No Ash, don't! You might hurt Glitterfly and Glowva!

Pikachu stops charging energy. Jessie sticks her tongue out. "Ha ha, you can't touch us!"

Meowth says, "Now for our retreat!" Team Rocket lowers back into their robot. The robot runs through some trees.

Ash shouts, "After them!"

The group runs into the trees following them. Jillian says, "If they keep heading this way, they're going to run into the Shimmering Lake!"

Sure enough, they make it through the tress to find themselves at the shore of a lake. The water itself glows. It appears that Team Rocket wasn't watching where they were running and ran right into the lake.

Inside the cockpit, Jessie complains, "Alright, which one of you morons just drove us into a lake!?"

James shouts, "It wasn't me!"

They both look towards Meowth, "Hey, don't look at me, I was trying to get us away from the twerps!"

Back outside several Pokémon are surfacing in the lake, including Staryu, Starmie, Finneon, and Lumineon. They all cry out. Then, within moments Pokémon start to pour out from all sides of the lake. Pokémon including Glitterfly, Volbeat, Illumise, Sunflora, Watchog, and Shinx gather. There are also some non-Light-Types, like Apprentichick and Chipmunch.

Brenda says, "Wow, look at all the Pokémon."

Jillian states in awe, "The forest is defending itself…"

Ash asks, "What do you mean?"

"Team Rocket has threatened the forest, and now the forest is prepared to fight back."

In Team Rocket's cockpit, James asks, "What's up with the shining congregation of Pokémon?"

Jessie says, "Who cares, let's just snag them all for The Boss!"

Meowth starts to press buttons. "Operation Shining Capture is on!"

Back outside, the Team Rocket mech manages to straighten itself up in the water. It swings its net towards a group of Pokémon on the shore. All of the Pokémon focus various light-based attacks on the robot's arm, breaking it off. Glitterfly and Glowva make their way out. Team Rocket can be heard giving a collective, "Uh oh…" All of the Pokémon attack again, this time focusing on the mech itself. It explodes, and sends Team Rocket flying.

As they're flying up into the night sky, Jessie says in an overly dramatic voice, "Oh cruel fate! To have seen true beauty and to have it ripped away! I do not know if I can go on like this!"

Meowth says annoyed, "Oh put a sock in it."

Jessie cringes and turns away. "Betrayed, even by my friends."

James says, "Come on Jessie, we'll find you even more beautiful Pokémon."

She looks up. "Really?"

"Really."

Meowth jumps in, "But first…"

They all shout, "We're blasting off again!"

"Wobbuffet!"

* * *

Back on the ground, Jillian and Brenda are running towards their Pokémon. Jillian hugs Glitterfly and asks it, "Are you okay?"

"Glitter!"

Brenda asks, "And how about you Glowva?"

Glowva looks up to the sky and shouts, "Glow!" It begins to glow a pure white. Brenda's eyes go wide.

Ash and Brock catch up. Brock exclaims, "Glowva is evolving!"

It begins to change shape. It becomes bigger and bulkier. The light ceases. Where Glowva once stood, is now a crescent-shaped cocoon-like Pokémon. It looks strong and durable and is colored silver. Its entire body gives off a slight glow, while its bottom tip brightly glows gold.

Ash pulls out his Pokédex again. "Chrysalux, the Glow Cocoon Pokémon, and a Bug and Light combo-type. Underneath the shell of Chrysalux, what once was Glowva is undergoing a drastic change. This change produces energy, which leaks out in the form of light. Evolves from Glowva at level 7 and into Glitterfly at level 10."

Jillian says, "Your Glowva evolved into Chrysalux! That's great!"

Brenda exclaims, "So that's evolution! That's so great! Congratulations Chrysalux!" Chrysalux stands completely still.

Jillian smiles. "I guess that it's time to get moving again. Come on, let's go."

* * *

A little later, the group has made it to the exit of the forest. Judging by the sky, its just becoming morning. Brock observes, "It looks like we're out."

Jillian nods. "Yes, this is the end of the forest." She looks back behind her. "I guess I'd better start heading back."

Brock turns to her. "Thank you for your help. I doubt we would have made it out so easily without your help."

"It was my pleasure. Goodbye." She walks off into the forest. Everyone waves goodbye. Once she is gone, the group turns around and continues on their way.

_ After an exciting journey through the Sol Forest, Brenda has found herself with a new Pokémon, and all three of our heroes a new friend in Jillian._

Ash suddenly halts in place. "Shoot!"

Brenda asks, "What is it Ash?"

"I never ended up catching a Light-Type Pokémon!" Brock and Brenda laugh. "Guys, I'm serious!" They keep on laughing. "Guys!"

_ Stay tuned!_

**To Be Continued…**

**If you want to learn more about the Light-Type visit the Cosmic Quest Official Website. It has a page full of everything you need to know about this new type, a type chart, a list of old moves that become Light-Types, a list of old Pokémon that become a Light-Type, and more. A link is provided on my profile page.**


	8. Episode 8: First Time's the Charm

Episode 8: First Time's the Charm

_ Having made it out of the Sol Forest, our heroes now find themselves in the neighboring Sol Town. It would appear that a surprise is in store for Ash and Brock._

Ash and Brock have their eyes closed, and Brenda is leading them forward. She says, "Alright guys, just a few more steps…and look!"

Ash and Brock open their eyes. They are standing in front of a large building. Above the door is a picture of a yellow ribbon with a sun pattern on its center. Ash exclaims, "Wow, it's a Contest Hall! I haven't seen one of those since Sinnoh."

Brock deduces, "So, since you were so excited about showing us this, that must mean…you're going to enter."

Brenda nods. "Yep, in all honesty, before I left to get my first Pokémon, I had no idea what I wanted to do besides just go on an adventure with my Pokémon, but then I saw a Contest on TV, and I knew I had to become a coordinator."

Ash asks, "So are you saying that you hadn't even heard about Pokémon Contests before then?"

She nods. "Never. But does that mean that you have?"

Ash and Brock nod. Ash explains, "You see, we've had a few friends who were coordinators. I've even competed in a Contest or two myself, for that matter, Brock did too, once." Brock nods.

"Wow, so I'm actually the only one here who hasn't been in one."

Brock says, "Well, according to a poster I saw when we were coming into town, the Contest is going to start pretty soon, you better go get registered. Why don't you do that, and I'll go to the store to stock up on supplies?"

Brenda nods. "Alright."

Ash says, "I'll head out with you Brock. Good luck Brenda."

"Thanks." She runs into the Contest Hall, Ash and Brock go the other way.

Nearby, crouching behind a bush, is Team Rocket. Jessie looks ecstatic. She say happily, "Pokémon Contests, here in the Tenno Region, who would have ever thought?"

James asks, "So are you going to enter?"

"Of course I'm going to enter! What kind of question is that!?"

Meowth states, "Well, you can't enter looking like that."

Jessie nods. "You're right, I can't wear street clothes, I need a fabulous dress."

Meowth mutters, "I meant that you can't be seen in your uniform, but I guess that works too."

Jessie continues, "You two, go get me a disguise worthy of my natural beauty, I'll except nothing less!" James and Meowth run off.

* * *

Inside the Contest Hall, Brenda is waiting in line to register. She's next. After he person in front of her is done, she steps forward. The clerk says, "Hello, and welcome to the Sol Town Contest Hall. How may I help you?"

Brenda responds, "Hi, I'm a new coordinator, and I'd like to register for the Contest."

The clerk nods. "Of course, if I could just see your Pokédex please." Brenda hands over the Pokédex. The clerk inserts the Pokédex into a computer, which scans it. A picture if Brenda, along with her Kappaqua and Chrysalux are shown. A card prints out, and the clerk hands the card and the Pokédex to Brenda. "This is your Contest Pass, you use it to gain entry into contests anywhere in the Tenno Region." She pulls out a case and hands it over as well. "And this is your Ribbon Case, if you earn any ribbons, you can keep them in here."

"Thank you very much." Brenda turns around and starts to walk away. She's looking at her Contest Pass and Ribbon Case with fascination. Her lack of attention causes her to bump into someone else, causing her to drop her pass and case. "Oops, silly me."

She begins to bend over to pick them up, but the person she bumped into says, "No, excuse me, and please, allow me." He bends over, picks up the dropped items, and hands them back. Brenda gets a good look at him. He's slightly taller, and thus, slightly older than her. He has black hair, combed to the side in a refined way, fairly handsome features, and wears a silver tuxedo.

Brenda, after a few moments, says, "Thanks."

He smiles. "Don't mention it." He extends a hand. "My name's Will."

Brenda shakes his hand. "I'm Brenda."

Will looks her over. "I hope you don't plan on entering your first Contest looking like that."

Brenda is confused. "Why?"

Will laughs. "Have you never seen a contest before? Or maybe you come from Hoenn? Anyways, here in Tenno, as well as most other regions, you must dress your best while competing in a Contest."

Brenda forces a laugh. "Of course I knew that! Why wouldn't I know that? Everyone knows that!"

Will laughs. "Of course. I guess I'll be seeing you around." He walks off.

Brenda runs to the nearest videophone and dials a number. Within a few moments, her mom appears on screen. Brenda says with panic, "Mom, I need a dress, now!"

Her mom laughs. "Are you entering the Sol Contest?" Brenda nods. "I thought so. I also thought you might not know the requirements for a Pokémon Contest. Don't worry, I've already sent a package to the Sol Town Pokémon Center with everything you'll need, including a dress, ball capsules, and seals. It should be there by now."

Brenda breathes a sigh of relief. "Thank you Mom, I don't know what I'd do without you."

"I don't know either. Good luck at the Contest, I'll be watching on TV." She hangs up.

* * *

Later, Ash, Brock, and Brenda are now outside the Contest Hall. Brenda seems to be explaining something. "Yeah, I was so embarrassed. But luckily, my mom had a dress ready for me."

Brock asks, "Have you even trained at all for this?"

Brenda shakes her head. "No, I kind of figured I'd just wing it, you know, make it up as I go."

"I don't know if that's the best idea, especially if you've only seen that one Contest on TV."

Ash exclaims, "Hey, I know, why don't you train against me right now?"

Brenda smiles. "Okay, let's do it!"

They each step away from each other and face each other. Ash throws a Pokéball. "Go, Apprentichick!"

"Apprenti!"

Brenda also pulls out a Pokéball. "Chrysalux, center stage!" Chrysalux appears in front of here, and just sits there. "Alright Chrysalux, let's start this battle off with String Shot!" Chrysalux sits and does nothing. Brenda is confused. "Hey, what gives!? Why won't Chrysalux attack?"

Brock shouts, "Chrysalux is a cocoon Pokémon, in this state it can only use the moves Harden and Flash."

"What!? I can't use that in a Contest!"

Ash smiles. "Come on Apprentichick, let's take this chance to attack! Use Wing Attack!" Apprentichick dives at the cocoon Pokémon.

"Chrysalux, use your Harden!" Chrysalux flashes silver for a moment, and absorbs the hit.

"Keep up the Wing Attacks!" Apprentichick goes in for another dive.

"Flash, now!" A bright light flashes from the Pokémon, and Apprentichick veers off course, missing its mark. However, it shakes it off and goes in for another hit. "Use Harden again!" Chrysalux takes several hits in a row without budging. Brenda sighs. "Chrysalux is great and all, but if all it can do is absorb hits and lower accuracy, I'll never get anything done with it."

Brock suggests, "Maybe you should just use Kappaqua the entire time."

"Yeah, I guess, I just wanted to use all my Pokémon, not just one." Suddenly, Chrysalux begins to glow a harsh white light. Brenda gasps.

Ash exclaims, "It's evolving already!"

Brenda exclaims, "That's great!"

Chrysalux loses its shell shape and wings unfold. The light ceases and Chrysalux is replaced by a Glitterfly. It cries, "Glittererererfly!"

Brenda jumps for joy. "This is perfect!" She hugs Glitterfly. "You evolved just in time for the Contest!" Glitterfly looks happy.

Brock suggests, "Why don't you use your Pokédex to see what moves your Glitterfly can use now?"

Brenda does so. The Pokédex says, "Glitterfly can use the moves Flash, Solar Beam, Signal Beam, and Sparkling Flare."

Ash says, "That's wonderful. This reminds me of the first Pokémon I ever caught." Ash reminisces about his Caterpie. "I had barely caught it, and it evolved into a Metapod, and then a Butterfree…" Ash gets lost in memories.

Brenda looks back at Glitterfly. "Are you ready for our first Contest Glitterfly?"

It replies with an excited, "Glitterererfly!"

* * *

**Who's that Pokémon!?**

**Hiding in people's shadows at night, this Pokémon absorbs their heat. The chill it causes makes the victims shake.**

* * *

Ash and Brock are waiting in the backstage of the Contest Hall. Brenda steps out from a changing room. "Ta da!" She's wearing a long, red and white dress, reminiscent of her normal clothes. She's taken off her hat and instead wears a white ribbon. "So, how do I look?"

Brock says, "You look great Brenda."

Ash nods. "You'll fit just fine out there."

Brenda looks up at a TV screen. "Hey, look, it's starting!"

They all turn to the screen. Up on stage is a woman who looks reminiscent of Vivian, Lillian, and Marian, hosts of Contests in other regions. She's wearing a blue gown. She announces, "Welcome one and all to the Sol Town Pokémon Contest!" The crowd cheers. "I'm your host, Gillian Meridian! Who's ready for the show?" Everyone cheers. "Let's meet our judges! First, it's the Contest Director, and our Head Judge, Mr. Contesta!"

Mr. Contesta smiles. "I'm looking forward to seeing what all you coordinators have come up with!"

"Next, the President of the Pokémon Fan Club, Mr. Sukizo!"

"Sol Town is remarkable!"

"And finally, it's Nurse Joy!"

"I wish you all the best of luck."

Brenda asks, "Did they bring Nurse Joy all the way from Aster Town to judge this Contest?"

Ash laughs. "No, that's probably her sister or something. The entire family looks exactly same."

Brock comes in, "First of all, it's cousin, and she happens to looks far different from the Aster Town Nurse Joy…she's much prettier." Brock pulls out a picture showing an entire family of different Joys on it. "See, she's right there on the left."

Brenda laughs. "Right…"

Gillian continues, "Now, let's get his show on the road! During the first round, coordinators will work with their Pokémon to show off their beauty to the best of their abilities! Without further ado, here's our first contestant!"

Brock says, "We better get to our seats. Come on Ash."

As they're leaving, Ash calls, "Good luck Brenda!"

* * *

**It's Gengar!**

* * *

It's a little latter in the Contest. Gillian announces, "And our next coordinator is none other than Will!" Will steps onto the stage. The crowd cheers.

Backstage, Brenda thinks, _That's the guy from before! I wonder how good he is…_

Will throws a Pokéball into the air. "Grace the stage Cryogonal!" A flurry of snowflakes emerges from the Pokéball's seal, and Cryogonal appears from the blizzard.

Brenda pulls out her Pokédex. "Cryogonal, the Crystallizing Pokémon and a Ice-Type. Cryogonal constantly change the form of their body, depending on the surrounding temperature. If it gets to hot, it will vaporize, only to reform when the temperature lowers again. Cryogonal does not evolve."

Will commands, "Cryogonal, Icy Wind!" Cryogonal adds its Icy Wind attack to the seal's snowflakes. "Now, Rapid Spin!" The Pokémon begins to rotate rapidly, causing the snow to spin around it like a tornado.

Gillian exclaims, "Breathtaking, Cryogonal is creating a whirlwind blizzard! It's a sight that you'd have to see to believe!"

Will keeps it up. "Let's step this up with Light Screen!" A golden light surrounds the spinning Pokémon, which scatters and reflects through the ice whirlwind. The crowd is in awe.

Brock says to Ash, "This guy is no joke. He's good."

"Time for the grand finale! Cryogonal, Aurora Beam!" The Pokémon stops spinning and creates a beam like the Northern Lights. The whirlwind slows, and then scatters across the field, and each individual snowflake sparkles with an array of colors.

Gillian exclaims, "And now that the whirlwind has dissipated, the thousands of tiny snowflakes are each reflecting the combined light of the Light Screen and Aurora Beam! Brilliant!" Will bows. "Let's see what our judges have to say.

Mr. Contesta is first. "The combination of light and snow is an awe inspiring sight."

Mr. Sukizo. "Ice-Type Pokémon are remarkable!"

Finally, Nurse Joy. "It was the perfect combination of beauty and grace."

Will walks off the stage.

Backstage, Brenda clenches her hands. She thinks, _Wow, he's really good. Am I really cut out for this?_

Gillian announces, "And now let's give a round of applause to our next contestant, she's a self-proclaimed Princess of the Stars, it's Jessileia!"

Running out on stage is a woman in dress with a starscape printed on it. She has long red hair that is loosely curled up into a bun on either side of her head. She blows kisses to the audience, shouting, "Greetings to all my fans! It's your pleasure to see me!"

In the audience, James and Meowth are cheering with the crowd. Meowth says, "Great job with that costume James, I can barely tell myself who she is. She looks like she came right out of a movie."

James nods. "It may have cost me one of my rarest bottle caps, but it was worth it."

Back down at the stage, Jessileia, apparently Jessie, has stopped blowing kisses. She runs up to her position and throws a Pokéball. Many large musical notes of different colors emerge and swirl around each other until they hit the roof. Upon impact, they separate, revealing Wobbuffet, hanging in the roof from a hook. The music notes continue to fly around the room, creating a tune as they move. Jessie snaps her fingers. "Lights please." The lights shut off. "Wobbuffet, Mirror Coat!" Wobbuffet begins to glow. Jessie pulls out a mechanical device and switches it on, and places it on the floor. It's some sort of spotlight that shines up at Wobbuffet. Upon hitting the Mirror Coat, the light scatters across the stage, similar to a disco ball. Wobbuffet even starts to spin, increasing the effect.

Gillian states, "What an odd technique! What is Jessileia up to?"

Jessie runs into the center of the stage, where the music notes are still floating around, creating music. Jessie twirls around and dances in the brilliant light reflected from Wobbuffet. Jessie looks up. "Alright Wobbuffet, come on down and use Counter!" Wobbuffet drops and glows a different colored light, hits the ground and bounces high because of the Counter attack. Jessie does one last twirl, Wobbuffet lands, and they both strike a pose.

The crowd cheers. Gillian announces, "It seems the audience loved it, but let's see what our judges say!"

Mr. Contesta is first. "A unique blend of both the Pokémon's and the coordinator's talents."

Then Mr. Sukizo. "That dance was remarkable!"

Finally Nurse Joy. "Who could have ever thought of turning a Pokémon into a disco ball?"

James and Meowth are clapping and cheering. James says, "Our girl hasn't lost her touch!"

Meowth responds, "Not a bit. And there we were, prepared for trouble."

"I made it double."

"She protected herself from devastation."

"And united fans into her nation."

"She showed the beauty of truth and love."

"She's extending her reach to the stars above."

"That's Jessie!"

"And I'm a proud James."

"She's blasting off at the speed of light."

"Those other coordinators should prepare to fight."

"Meowth, that's right!"

* * *

It's now a little later in the First Round. Gillian announces, "And now it's time for our final performance! She's a new coordinator from Launch Town! It's Brenda!"

Brenda runs onto her platform. She waves to everyone. She tosses a Pokéball. "Kappaqua, center stage!" Out of the Pokéball comes a small wave of water. As it travels forward, it grows larger. Kappaqua appears on top of it, surfing. "Jump up and use Aqua Bomb!" Kappaqua leaps up and fires an Aqua Bomb straight down. It hits the wave and explodes, sending water droplets flying in all directions. "Now catch the water with Confusion!" Upon landing, using its psychic powers, Kappaqua stops the drops in midair.

"Look at the rarely seen beauty of water suspended in midair!"

Brock comments, "So far, so good."

Ash says, "Don't worry about her, I'm sure she'll do fine."

Brenda shouts, "Now, send it all upwards!"

"Kappa!" All of the water goes straight up into the air and coalesces into a large orb of water.

"Let's finish this up! Aqua Bomb, followed by a Water Gun!" Kappaqua fires another Aqua Bomb straight up. After a few moments, it aims a Water Gun, hitting the Aqua Bomb and speeding it up. The combined attack hits the orb of water and explodes, splashing a fine mist of water across the audience and creating a rainbow.

Gillian exclaims, "Nothing beats the feeling of a cool mist on a hot summer day!"

Mr. Contesta states, "I never would have guessed this was your first Pokémon Contest."

Mr. Sukizo simply says, "That was remarkable!"

Nurse Joy explains, "A performance that showcased the simplicity and beauty of a Water-Type Pokémon."

Brenda looks overjoyed. She takes a bow.

Backstage, Will is intently watching. He thinks, _There's no way that this is her first Contest. It took me many tries until I was that good! She's one to look out for._

* * *

Brenda is back backstage. She looks nervous. Gillian's voice comes over the TV, "Alright folks, after a few hard decisions from our expert panel of judges, we've narrowed down the competition to the eight top performances! Here they are!" Brenda, Will, and Jessie all look to the screen intensely. In the audience, Ash and Brock lean forward for a better view.

_ With the first round of her first Contest behind her, Brenda now waits for her results. Will she move on to the Second Round? Will she win her first ribbon? There's only one way to find out. Stay tuned!_

**To Be Continued…**


	9. Episode 9: Beginner's Luck

Episode 9: Beginner's Luck

_ Brenda has entered her first Pokémon Contest. She put up an admirable performance in the Appeal Stage, and now she waits to see if that was enough._

Brenda, Will, and Jessie in her Princess Jessileia costume are watching the TV screen backstage of the Sol Town Contest Hall. Gillian announces, "Alright folks, after a few hard decisions from our expert panel of judges, we've narrowed down the competition to the eight top performances! Here they are!" One by one, faces begin to appear on the screen. First is Will, a few unknown people, then Jessie. There is room for one more person. After showing the second to last person, the screen pauses. Brenda gulps. Finally, her face appears.

Brenda jumps and shouts, "Yeah, I made it!"

In the audience Ash and Brock cheer, "She made it!"

Back at Brenda's house, her mom is watching the Contest on TV nods and states, "She made it."

Backstage, Brenda looks around. Several people around her appear disappointed, but others appear excited and happy. She catches a glimpse of Will, who smiles and nods at her. She does likewise and sits back down.

Gillian explains, "And now we enter into the Second Round, the Battle Stage! In this exciting round, two coordinators go head on head battling, while attempting to lower their opponent's point count by showing off their Pokémon's grace and beauty, and all while attempting to block the opponent from doing the same! Whoever has the last Pokémon standing, or the most points at the end of the time limit wins and moves on to the next round! Are you ready!? Let's do this! Match-ups will be shown on the screen now!" A tournament grid appears on the screen. The first match shows Brenda and Jessie. "Our first battle will take place between Brenda and Princess Jessileia! Would the contestants please come to the stage!"

Brenda and Jessie get up and head towards the exit. Brenda extends a hand, "Good luck."

Jessie scoffs, "Am I supposed to shake that? Let me give you a piece of advice twerp, I've entered in Contests around the world, I've even been in a Grand Festival. You don't stand a chance. And I won't wish you luck, because in the end, it will be me winning." She turns and walks out.

Brenda says to herself, "What's up with her?" She shakes her head and walks out as well.

* * *

Brenda and Jessie have made their way up to the stage. Gillian announces, "First off, let's set the stage!" She beckons to the roof, which begins to move. It slides to the side, allowing the light of the Sun to fill the room. "Since Sol Town is known as the Town of the Sun, it's only appropriate that we allow these battles to take place under the bright light of the Sun! Now, five minutes on the clock please!" Up on the scoreboard, which shows a picture of Brenda and Jessie, and timer saying 5:00 appears. "And begin!"

Brenda throws her Pokéball first. "Glitterfly, center stage!" A brilliant flash of light is generated by the ball's seal, and from that light comes Glitterfly.

"Glitterererfly!"

Brock nods slowly. "Saving Glitterfly for this round was a good choice, but potentially risky."

Ash asks, "Why?"

"Brenda only just caught Glitterfly, and on top of that, it only evolved a few hours ago. She hasn't had that much of a chance to get accustomed to it. But then, at the same time, Glitterfly is a fully evolved Pokémon, so it should be a better battler than Kappaqua, in theory, not to mention its natural beauty gives it a distinct advantage. It will be interesting to see what happens in this battle. It could go either way."

Jessie laughs. "That's all you have to offer? Just wait until you see my Pokémon! Go!" From her Pokéball comes several ribbons which fly and twist around each other. Out of them emerges Repiv.

"Repivvvvvv!"

Jessie commands, "Repiv, use Poison Fang!"

Brenda counters, "Glitterfly, Sparkling Flare!" Glitterfly flaps its wings and sends a stream of sparkles at Repiv.

"Dodge it!" Repiv twists around the attack and bites down on Glitterfly. Brenda's points are slightly lowered.

"Get out of its jaws Glitterfly, distract it with Flash!" A blinding bright light fills the room. When it ceases, Repiv is dazed and loosens its grip. "Now attack with Solar Beam!" Glitterfly absorbs solar energy, and quickly fires a beam of energy, hitting Repiv.

Gillian shouts, "Looks like Brenda is using the bright Sun to her advantage! In light like this, Glitterfly can charge its Solar Beam instantly!" Jessie's points lower.

Jessie shouts, "Don't let the twerpette do that to you! Attack with Poison Sting!"

Brenda shouts, "Counter with Signal Beam!" The attacks hit in the center, exploding into sparks.

Gillian narrates, "And now we have a collision of two equally powerful moves, canceling each other out and creating a beautiful sight in the process!" Both lose points this time, Jessie more so than Brenda.

Jessie is annoyed. "Get in close, and use Wrap!"

"Glitterfly, don't let get around you, hit it with another Signal Beam!"

"Glitter!" Glitterfly launches another beam of light at Repiv, but Repiv manages to twist its serpentine body around the attack.

Gillian explains, "Jessileia is using Repiv's serpentine body to easily dodge attacks, putting Brenda at a disadvantage!" Brenda loses more points.

Repiv manages to wrap around Glitterfly and constricts. Jessie commands, "Now keep on hitting it with Poison Fang!" Repiv strikes several times with its poisonous fangs. Glitterfly is in pain. Brenda's points continue to drop. She is now below half.

Brenda gets nervous. "Get out of there, close range Solar Beam!" Glitterfly manages to hit Repiv's head with a powerful Solar Beam, knocking it off. Jessie's points slightly fall. She is currently just above half. "Good job Glitterfly!"

Glitterfly tries to respond, "Glitter-" but is suddenly cut off when it glows purple and cries out in pain. This stops quickly.

Brenda asks, "What's wrong Glitterfly!?"

Gillian answers, "It looks like Glitterfly has been poisoned by Repiv's Poison Fang! Now it will take damage over time! If Brenda wants to win, it better be soon!"

Brock looks distraught. Ash asks, "What's wrong Brock?"

"Glitterfly isn't only poisoned. It's badly poisoned. Repiv has an ability called Toxify. It makes it so that if it poisons a Pokémon, that Pokémon becomes badly poisoned instead. Glitterfly has a lot of damage coming its way."

Ash nods in understanding. "You're right. That's not good."

Jessie smiles. "Too bad twerpette. Repiv, take advantage of the situation and use Venoshock!"

"Repiv!" From a distance, Repiv spits a stream of poison towards Glitterfly, soaking it. Brenda loses points. Glitterfly looks badly damaged.

Gillian points out, "And now Jessileia's taking advantage of that poison and doubling the power of Venoshock!"

Brenda looks at Glitterfly. It is beat up and worn down. It lights up purple again and takes more damage from poison. Brenda thinks, _Glitterfly has taken so much damage. What can I do? Maybe I wasn't cut out for Contest's after all. _She hangs her head.

From the audience, Ash shouts down, "Hey Brenda, you can't give up yet! The battle isn't over until it's over!"

Brenda looks up to the scoreboard. She has just over a third of her points. Jessie still has just over half. There is exactly two minutes left on the clock. _He's right. I can't give up. Not yet. _She shouts aloud, "Glitterfly, we're not done yet! Fly up high!" Glitterfly takes to the skies.

Jessie laughs. "Like that's going to do you any good! Repiv, hit it with Poison Sting!" Repiv starts to fire its stings straight up towards Glitterfly.

"Sparkling Flare!" Glitterfly counters with its dazzling attack, and the two attacks collide and explode into sparkles. "Now Flash!" Repiv is dazed and confused by the bright flash of light. Jessie's points are lowered.

Jessie gets annoyed again. "More Poison Sting!" Repiv tries to attack, but misses by a long shot.

"Glitterfly, Solar Beam!" Glitterfly fires its attack straight down. Repiv can't see it coming, and can't dodge. It hits. Jessie's points lower more. "Now give it another Signal Beam!" Another hit. "Alternate your attacks!" Glitterfly flies around Repiv, firing its beams from different angles, each one hitting.

Jessie is stomping her feet with anger. "Stop getting hit! Get out of the way!" Repiv, still blinded by the Flash, is unable to do so. Repiv faints. The judges all declare the battle over, and an X appears on the screen of each of their stands. A look at the scoreboard reveals that there was five seconds left, and Jessie was nearly out of points, Brenda still had about a third.

Gillian announces, "That's it, it's all over! Brenda and Glitterfly win!"

Ash and Brock stand up and cheer. James and Meowth hang their heads. James says, "So much for Jessie's victory."

Meowth sighs. "We're never going to hear the end of it this time."

Jessie stomps her feet in anger. She grunts to herself, "I'm blasting off again!" and she turns runs off the stage.

Brenda is smiling and waving to the audience.

* * *

**Who's that Pokémon!?**

**People have driven this Pokémon almost to the point of extinction. In the evenings, this Pokémon is said to sing plaintively as it seeks what few others of its kind still remain.**

* * *

A montage of scenes is shown. First Will is shown defeating an opponent who uses a Floatzel, advancing to the next round. Then several scenes of Brenda in her second battle against a random coordinator are shown. It's her Glitterfly against a Vivillion. Brenda wins. Then, in Will's second battle, he beats a Snowrunt. The final scene in the montage shows the tournament brackets. It's up to the finals, Brenda and Will.

* * *

**It's Lapras!**

* * *

Gillian announces, "It's been a long and hard climb to the top, but these two fabulous coordinators have made it to the Final Round! On my left, he's a popular coordinator who's going for his second ribbon! It's Will!" Will comes out, and the audience applauds. "On my right, she's a brand-new coordinator with no experience in contests, and yet she's shown herself to be a natural coordinator, it's Brenda!" Brenda comes out on the other side. There is once again an applause. "Let's get this battle going! Five minutes on the clock please, and go!"

Brenda shouts, "Glitterfly, center stage!" The same way it did before, Glitterfly appears on the stage.

Will flips his hair to the side and throws his Pokéball. "Grace the stage Ravenoir!" Out comes a bird Pokémon. It's about a foot and a half tall, and is colored pitch-black. Its design is sleek and smooth, while its feathers are glossy. Its eyes are red and almost appear to glow.

Ash states, "Let's see what the Pokédex has to say." He pulls it out.

"Ravenoir, the Nevermore Pokémon and a Dark and Flying combo-type. Ravenoir are often said to be a bad omen. If one is seen at sunset, it is believed bad luck lurks just beyond the corner. Ravenoir does not evolve."

Will states, "Please, you take the first move."

Brenda smiles. "I think I will! Glitterfly, use Solar Beam!" Glitterfly, aided by the bright sun, launches a powerful Solar Beam.

"Ravenoir, dodge!" Ravenoir flies out of the way. Brenda looses her first points

Brock states, "Too bad that missed, that attack would have been super effective."

Ash asks with some confusion, "How would a Grass-Type move like Solar Beam be super effective against a Dark and Flying-Type Pokémon?"

Brock explains, "Normally the move Solar Beam inflicts Grass-Type damage, but that changes when used by a Light-Type Pokémon. When such a Pokémon uses Solar Beam, it becomes a Light-Type move instead, and Light is super effective against Dark."

Will declares, "Dark Pulse!" Ravenoir creates an orb of dark energy that's sent at Glitterfly. Glitterfly is unable to dodge. Brenda looses more points.

Gillian announces, "A super effective hit by Dark Pulse on Glitterfly!"

Ash is confused once more. "Brock, didn't you just say that Light is good against Dark? How come she just said that Dark is good against Light?"

Brock nods. "I understand your confusion. It works both ways. Light brightens the dark, while dark obscures the light."

Ash nods. "That makes sense."

Brenda counters, "Come on Glitterfly, let's attack with Signal Beam!" Glitterfly lets loose a dazzling beam of light at Ravenoir.

Will shouts, "Counter with another Dark Pulse!" Brenda's attack is cancelled by Will's. "Now move in for a Wing Attack!" Ravenoir flies towards Glitterfly with high speed.

"Glitterfly, stop it with Solar Beam!" Before it can deliver its attack, Ravenoir is stopped by the Solar Beam and knocked back. Will loses the first of his points. "Great Job, now hit it with a Sparkling Flare!" A stream of sparkles are sent at the still recovering Ravenoir, hitting it again. Will loses more points. "And now, one more Solar Beam!"

Will smiles and murmurs, "Gotcha." He then shouts, "Ravenoir, use Moonlit Night!"

Ravenoir cries, "Raven!" and an orb of darkness flies straight up into the air, covering the Sun. Suddenly, the room goes dark. A full Moon has appeared in front of the Sun, covering it. The stars can be seen in the sky. It is for all intents and purposes, nighttime. Glitterfly's Solar Beam keeps on charging, much after it would normally fire.

Gillian explains, "Will has turned day to night with Ravenoir's Moonlit Night attack! Now Glitterfly is stuck charging its Solar Beam, which takes double the time to charge during the night compared to a normal, non-sunny day, and then will only do half the damage!" Brenda loses points.

Will commands, "Now it's time! Lunar Beam!" Ravenoir gathers shadowy energy, and then quickly releases a powerful beam of darkness.

Brenda shouts, "Dodge it Glitterfly!" However, Glitterfly, still charging its Solar Beam, is unable dodge. The Lunar Beam hits.

Gillian exclaims, "And now Will is using Brenda's own tactic against her! Under this full Moon, Lunar Beam takes next to no time at all to charge!" Brenda's points drop to below half. Three minutes are left.

Brenda shouts in desperation, "Come on Glitterfly, attack already!" Glitterfly continues to charge.

Will shouts, "Now lets show off our beauty and grace! Use a Dark Pulse, and follow it with another Lunar Beam!" Ravenoir fires off a Dark Pulse, quickly followed by another fast to charge Lunar Beam. The two moves collide and combine on the way towards Glitterfly, hitting it for double the damage. Brenda's points drastically drop to bellow a quarter.

Glitterfly finally fires off its attack, and manages to hit Ravenoir, but still doing less damage than before. Will loses a slight amount points. He's just over three-fourths of his max. Brenda is stressed. "Come on Glitterfly, let's switch over to Signal Beam!" Glitterfly quickly attacks this time.

"Ravenoir, dodge." Ravenoir appears to blend into the Darkness, effortlessly dodging the attack. Brenda loses a few points.

Brock grunts. "I was afraid of this. That Ravenoir has the Night Shroud ability. It can make the Pokémon almost impossible to hit during the night."

Will commands, "Now Wing Attack!" Ravenoir appears out of nowhere behind Glitterfly and hits it with its wing.

Brenda shouts, "Turn around and use Sparkling Flare!" Glitterfly quickly turns around launches its attack, but Ravenoir has already disappeared back into the darkness. The attack misses.

"Rapid fire Wing Attacks!" Ravenoir appears out of the darkness again to hit Glitterfly, then disappears again, only to reappear and hit from another angle.

"Get out of there Glitterfly!" Glitterfly tries to get away, but can't. Ravenoir's onslaught continues. Brenda's points are steadily lowering. Brenda says to herself, "Glitterfly can't see Ravenoir in this darkness. If only it had some way to see…wait, that's it! Glitterfly, use Flash, and as soon as you see Ravenoir, hit it with a Signal Beam!"

"Glittererererfly!" Glitterfly causes a flash that lights up the room around, Ravenoir can be seen coming head on. Glitterfly hits it with Signal Beam. The flash subsides.

"Keep up the Flashes!" Glitterfly lights up the room once more, and then hits the once more revealed Ravenoir. Whenever the light dies out, Ravenoir attempts to use the darkness to its advantage, but Glitterfly reveals it each time with another Flash, then hits it with another attack. Will's points begin to drop now. Brenda shouts, "Yeah, we can do this Glitterfly!"

Just as she finishes shouting that, Gillian declares, "And time!" She beckons up to the scoreboard. Brenda has almost no points left, Will has just under half. "The winner of the Sol Contest is Will and Ravenoir!"

Brenda hangs her head and takes a deep breath. She says to herself, "I lost…"

Will has walked across the stage to Brenda and says, "Hey, cheer up. That was a great battle. If I didn't know any better, I would have thought that you already had Contest experience. This was only your first Contest, and yet you showed the skills of a pro. That's nothing to be ashamed of."

Brenda looks back up. She smiles. Will smiles back.

* * *

A little later, Will is now standing on top of a platform on the stage with Ravenoir and Cryogonal next to him. Mr. Contesta walks up to him and hands him a golden ribbon with a picture of a sun on it. Mr. Contesta declares, "It is my pleasure to present the Sol Ribbon to you. That was an amazing display you showed us today, one to be proud of."

Will takes the ribbon. "Thank you. This is a great honor." He holds the ribbon up for the crowd to see. There's a grand applause.

* * *

Brenda is standing in front of a videophone at the Pokémon Center. Kappaqua is on her shoulder and Glitterfly flying behind her. Ash and Brock are also nearby. On the screen is her mom. Brenda says with some regret, "I'm sorry you couldn't watch me win Mom."

Her mom shakes her head. "You don't have to apologize to me dear. To be honest, I didn't expect you to make it past the first round. This was your first Contest, and you made it to the Finals, there aren't many people who can say that. You have a natural talent for this, and I'm sure that you'll be able to turn that natural talent into future victories. Just trust in your Pokémon, and you can do anything."

Brenda smiles. "Thanks Mom."

"And trust me, losing to Will is not a bad thing."

Brenda tilts her head. "Do you know Will?"

She laughs. "Of course I do, I thought you did as well."

Brenda shakes her head. "No, I only just met him today."

Her mom smiles. "Will placed second at last years Grand Festival."

Brenda gasps. "Wait, you're telling me that I just held my own against someone who almost became a Top Coordinator!?"

She nods.

_ Brenda may have lost her first Pokémon Contest, but she still has much ahead of her. And now knowing that she has a rivalry with a famous coordinator, who knows what could happen next. You'll just have check in next time, when the journey continues!_

**To Be Continued…**


	10. Episode 10: The Tortoise and the Flare

Episode 10: The Tortoise and the Flare

Team Rocket is seated in the control center of a mech. The mech is a large robotic Golem. Meowth declares, "With our rock-hard Rolling Golem, there's no way we won't be getting Pikachu."

Jessie exclaims, "I see a reward in our future."

James asks, "Are you sure you aren't part Psychic Jessie?"

Meowth states, "She might as well be. Let's get those twerps."

The mech takes a few steps forward, to be blocked by a Turcell walking out onto the path. It sits in the middle of the road and looks curiously at the giant Golem. It tilts its head and questions, "Tur? Cell?" The mech stops.

James asks, "Is it just me, or is that Pokémon familiar?"

Meowth exclaims, "That's the same Turcell that left us trapped in the Crater Gate!"

Jessie pounds her fist down with anger. "There's no way we can let such an injustice go unanswered. Meowth, catch that Pokémon!"

"Right away!" Meowth presses a button and the mech reaches out to grab Turcell.

The Turcell continues to look at the mech with curiosity. After a few moments, when it's just about to be grabbed, it spits a ball of molten material, which lands on the arm and melts right through it, causing it to fall to the ground.

James shouts, "That little Pokémon just melted our mech's arm off!"

Turcell then spits two more globs of molten slag.

From Team Rocket's view, it cannot be seen where they hit. Jessie taunts, "Ha ha, looks like your aim isn't all that good!"

Meowth laughs, "Yeah, you couldn't hit the broadside of a barn!"

Meanwhile James is bending over, attempting to see below them. He says with worry, "Um…guys…I don't think it missed."

They all look down. The molten slag has almost completely melted through the joints that connect the legs to the body. Team Rocket look at each other with panic. The joints break, and the Golem mech, free of support rolls backwards down a hill. James shouts, "I don't think this is what was meant by rock and roll!"

Meowth shouts, "You know what they say, a rolling stone gathers no moss!"

Jessie shouts, "I don't think that applies to this situation!"

They all shout at once, "Looks like Team Rocket's rolling off again!"

Turcell remains seated where it was. As if it has no clue what just happened, it states, "Turcell?"

* * *

_ With Brenda's first Pokémon Contest behind her, our heroes now continue onwards towards Horizoport City, location of Ash's first Tenno League gym battle. We find them now taking a break in a small town._

Ash, Brock, and Brenda are sitting at a table outside of a restaurant. Ash is busily chowing down on some food. Brock laughs, "You could slow down a little Ash. You'd think that I starve you."

Between bites Ash says, "Sorry, I'm just got so hungry."

Brenda laughs, "That's Ash for you. If he's not training to be a Pokémon Master, he's stuffing his face."

Ash doesn't listen and just keeps on eating.

A boy of about Ash's age walks up to the group. He's wearing blue and black shirt and tan shorts. He says, "Hey, I've heard that you three are Pokémon trainers."

Ash looks up and mumbles with his mouth full, "Yeah, so why do you want to know?"

The boy laughs. "Because I'm a trainer too. I'm on my way to the Horizoport Gym and was looking for someone to train against."

Ash puts down his food and swallows everything in his mouth in one gulp. He quickly gets up. "You're on!"

"Great, by the way, the name's Grant."

Ash smiles. "I'm Ash from Pallet Town," he beckons to Pikachu, "and this is my partner, Pikachu."

"Pika."

"Nice to meet you. Why don't we go to the forest outside of the town? I found a good place to use as a battlefield."

* * *

**Who's that Pokémon!?**

**Such a thick shell of wood covers this Pokémon's head and back that even a direct hit from a truck wouldn't faze it.**

* * *

Ash and Grant are now positioned on either side of a clearing in the woods. Grant says, "Since I challenged you, I'll give you the luxury of seeing my Pokémon before you have to pick yours." He tosses a Pokéball. "Go Hitmonlee!" Hitmonlee emerges ready for battle.

Brenda says, "I've never seen one of those before."

She pulls out her Pokédex. "Hitmonlee, the Kicking Pokémon and a Fighting-Type. Hitmonlee's legs can extend to several times their length and are spring loaded. It can use this special trait to increase the power and speed of its kicks tenfold. Hitmonlee evolves from Tyrogue at level 20."

Ash reaches for a Pokéball. "If you're using a Fighting-Type, then I'll have to use this. Apprentichick, I choose you!" Ash throws his Pokéball, releasing Apprentichick.

"Apprenti!"

Grant commands, "Let's start this battle with a Mega Kick!"

"Hitmon!" Hitmonlee lunges at Apprentichick, readying its leg for a powerful kick. However, it skids to a halt when Turcell wanders into the middle of the battlefield. It looks around curiously.

Grant exclaims, "It's a Turcell!"

Turcell looks at Grant, and then turns its head towards Ash. Upon seeing Ash its face lights up with joy. "Turcell!"

Brock states, "That's odd, Turcell aren't normally found in the wild. I wonder if this one got lost."

Grant exclaims, "I don't care, this is my chance to catch a Turcell! Let's do this Hitmonlee, use your Double Kick on Turcell!"

Turcell begins to run towards Ash excitedly, when Hitmonlee comes in from behind and kicks it twice, knocking it back a few feet.

Ash starts to say, "Um…Grant…?"

Grant ignores him. "Not now, I've always wanted to catch a Turcell! Hitmonlee, keep up the Double Kicks!" Hitmonlee unleashes a barrage of kicks at Turcell. In an attempt to protect itself, Turcell retreats into its shell. "Dang, its defenses are to strong. Use Mega Kick, and make it as powerful as you can!"

"Hitmonlee!" Hitmonlee delivers a powerful kick right to Turcell's shell. The attack causes Turcell to be sent flying up above the tree tops and out of view.

Grant scratches the back of his head. "Hmm…we might have overdone that last one."

Hitmonlee lowers its head and sighs, "Hitmon…"

"Oh well, there's nothing we can do about it now but try to follow it. Let's go!"

"Hitmonlee!"

He turns, looks back at Ash, and calls, "Sorry Ash, but we'll have to finish this battle later!"

Brock and Brenda walk up to Ash. Brenda comments, "Well…that was strange."

Ash says, "I know that Turcell."

Brock asks, "What do you mean?"

Ash has a flashback to when he rescued the Turcell. "It was back when I had just gotten to Tenno. When I was chasing after Cosmo. That was the Turcell that ran away from Professor Pine's lab. I found it stranded in the middle of a river, and helped it get out."

Brock nods. "That would explain why it seemed to get happy when it saw you. Maybe it's been following you."

Brenda comments, "That would make sense. Maybe we should contact the professor."

* * *

**It's Chespin!**

* * *

Ash is on the video phone with Professor Pine. The professor is saying, "I'm glad to hear that that little guy is okay. I've been worried about it."

Ash asks, "So it is the same one from your lab?"

"It's impossible to say for sure, but I can't imagine why else you'd find a Turcell wondering around in the woods. Excuse me for a moment." He walks off screen. A few moments later he returns holding a Pokéball. "Here we go. This is Turcell's Pokéball. How about I send it to you, that way you can get Turcell back in it and send it back to me."

Ash nods. "Sure, I can do that."

"Okay, sending the Pokéball now." The Pokéball materializes on the transporter pad. Ash picks it up and pockets it. "Do you have it?"

"Yup, it just came through. I'll call you again when I find Turcell. Bye professor."

"Bye Ash, and good luck." The screen turns off.

Ash looks up at Apprentichick, which apparently had never returned to its Pokéball, and asks, "Apprentichick , can you search the woods for Turcell?" Apprentichick nods and flies out the already open door. The group follows.

Nearby a suspicious group of three wearing casual clothes, sunglasses, and hats are sitting. It's Team Rocket in disguise. Jessie says, "So that pesky Turcell belongs to the professor."

James nods. "All the more reason to steal it. A genuine starter Pokémon."

Meowth says, "And that not even the beginning of it."

James asks, "What do you mean by that?"

Meowth explains, "Imagine if we gave it to The Boss." A fantasy sequence begins. "The Boss is a wealthy man, and yet, he could always be wealthier. I'm certain that in order to save money, The Boss turns off all of his electronic equipment as much as possible." A cartoonish Giovanni is shown navigating himself through a dark room. "And of course all of that living in the dark has got to get pretty annoying. That's where a gifted Turcell comes in. He's a solar power plant on legs." Giovanni is now shown connecting Turcell up to a generator out side, and all of the lights in his nearby mansion turn on. "The Boss will get his electricity for free, and help the environment at the same time. That's when he'll say, 'Thanks to this here Turcell, I can slash my utility bills and do my part for the world. For helping me go green, I'll make sure that Meowth and friends see green.'" The fantasy ends.

Jessie cheers, "Green is my favorite color!"

James agrees, "Mine too!"

The three chant, "We'll be green, we'll be mean, we'll be an unbeatable machine!"

Wobbuffet emerges from its Pokéball to add, "Wobbuffet!"

* * *

Ash, Brock, and Brenda have made it back to the woods. Apprentichick flies in. "Apprenti!"

Ash asks, "Did you find it?" It nods.

They follow it for a little while until they find Grant commanding his Hitmonlee to attack Turcell. "Now use High Jump Kick!" Hitmonlee leaps up and prepares to attack.

Turcell counters with an Ember attack, scorching Hitmonlee, but not stopping it. Hitmonlee's attack hits, knocking back Turcell.

Grant cheers, "Yeah, that's it!" He pulls out a Pokéball. "Go, Pokéball!" The Pokéball is sent at Turcell and opens to catch it. However, the beam shatters upon enveloping Turcell. "Hey, what gives!?"

Brock explains, "That's not a wild Pokémon. It's actually belongs to Professor Pine."

Ash pulls out the Pokéball. "Yeah, and this is its Pokéball."

Turcell, hearing Ash's voice, perks up and looks at Ash excitedly.

Grant hangs his head. "So I never had a chance to catch it at all…" He sighs.

Ash walks over to Turcell. "Hey Turcell, remember me?" It nods happily. "I've got your Pokéball here so we can return you to the professor, okay?" Turcell slowly nods.

Grant states, "I really wanted that Turcell too."

Suddenly, Jessie declares, "You may not have been able to catch Turcell, but that doesn't mean we can't!"

Grant looks up. "Who said that?"

In comes walking another Team Rocket mech. It's another Golem robot, but this one is bigger and coated in silver armor. Jessie and James are standing on top of it. Jessie starts, "Prepare for climate trouble!"

James adds, "Make it a glacier melting double!"

"To protect the world from global warming!"

"To stop this crisis that's surely forming!"

"To announce the evils of air pollution!"

"To find a greener solution!"

"Jessie!"

"James!"

"Team Rocket blasts off at the speed of light!"

"Surrender now or prepare to fight!"

"Meowth, that's right!"

"Wobbuffet!"

"Mime mime!"

Grant asks a little confused, "So you're environmentalists?"

Jessie looks at James angrily, "That's last time we have a green-themed motto! I knew it wouldn't be a good idea!"

James looks nervous. "Sorry, I thought it was appropriate."

Ash runs up next to Grant with Turcell following. "They're no environmentalists. They're Team Rocket, a group of no good Pokémon thieves."

Jessie yells, "What do you mean 'no good'? We're great at what we do! We've come to take that Turcell. It owes us big time now."

Brenda shouts, "Turcell belongs to Professor Pine, it's reserved for new trainers!"

Meowth asks, "And you think we care why?" Team Rocket gets into the cockpit of the mech. "You'll never stop our Rolling Golem Mark Two! Let's start things off with a Rolling Rock Throw!" The mech's arms and legs retract in and it rapidly rolls in place, causing a large boulder to fly towards Ash and everyone else.

Turcell leaps in front of Ash spits a glob of molten material at the boulder, melting right through it and causing it to shatter apart into harmless pebbles.

Brock says, "Wow, that was a Molten Slag attack. I've never seen one before. Apparently, unlike other Fire-Type moves, it's so hot that it's super effective against Rock and Ground-Type Pokémon!"

The mech stops rolling. Turcell sends two more Molten Slag attacks at the mech, attempting to melt it. Unlike before, the molten material slides right off the silvery armor.

Meowth says, "Nice try, but we aren't falling for that again. Now it's time for a Rolling Rollout!" Meowth presses a button and the Golem mech rolls at the group at high speeds. The group leaps out of the way, but the mech just turns around and heads back towards them.

Grant shouts, "Hitmonlee, stop it with Mega Kick!"

"Hitmonlee!" The Pokémon waits until the last moment and unleashes a kick, but is knocked back instead.

Ash shouts, "Try a Talon Grapple Apprentichick!" Apprentichick dives in unleashes a series of attacks that do absolutely nothing.

Turcell takes another go and withdraws into its shell, and begins to spin around and sends itself toward the Golem. Once again, it bounces off harmlessly. The group jumps out of the way of the mech once more.

It stops rolling and stands back up. James taunts, "You can try all you'd like, but your attacks can do nothing against our Rolling Golem!" They begin to roll again.

Turcell steps in front of Ash, as if to protect him, and cries, "Turcell!" as if in challenge. It begins another Rapid Spin attack, but is only deflected again. This time is sent flying into some trees.

Ash shouts, "Turcell!"

Grant looks at Ash and says, "Don't worry, we'll handle these jokers, you go help Turcell."

Ash nods and runs after it. After running through the woods, Ash emerges into a clearing with a river with a swift current flowing through it. Turcell is frantically splashing trying to get out. It is being carried away by the current. "Don't worry Turcell, I'm coming!"

Turcell cries in panic, "Tur! Tur! Turcell!"

Ash dives into the water a swims to the center and grabs Turcell. "Don't worry, I've got you." Ash, with all his effort, swims back to the shore. The two climb up the shore a little and fall to the ground with exhaustion. "Are you okay Turcell?"

Turcell, after taking a few moments to recover, smiles at Ash. "Turcell!"

Ash smiles back. "Glad to hear it."

Suddenly a loud rumbling is heard. Brock, Brenda, Grant, and their Pokémon coming running out of the trees. Following behind them is the rolling Golem mech. Meowth shouts, "Get back here you twerps!"

Brenda shouts, "Ash, get out of the way!"

Ash looks to the mech, towards Hitmonlee, towards the river, and then Turcell. He shouts, "Guys, I have an idea!"

Grant shouts, "Then stop bragging and do it!"

"Alright! Will you help me out Turcell?"

Turcell nods. "Tur!"

"Alright Turcell, prepare to use your Rapid Spin attack!" Turcell retreats into its shell and begins to spin in place. "Alright Grant, now have your Hitmonlee use its strongest Mega Kick on Turcell."

Grant nods. "Alright, I get it. Do it Hitmonlee."

"Hitmoooonnnlee!" Hitmonlee runs towards Turcell and kicks it with all its strength. Turcell is sent flying at high speeds at Team Rocket. Turcell hits the mech with a powerful impact and sends it off course, causing it to roll right into the river.

Ash shouts, "Yeah great job!"

The Golem mech is slowly sinking in the water. James shouts, "All hands, abandon ship!"

Jessie leaps out crying, "Women and children first!"

Meowth right behind her shouting, "I've lost too many of my nine lives to water!"

James comes out last shouting, "Hey, wait for me!" The three leap off and land on shore. James gives a sigh of relief and says, "Whew, that thing was sinking like a rock."

Team Rocket get up and look forward. In front of them is an angry Pikachu and Turcell. Team Rocket gulps.

Ash shouts, "Alright Turcell, you use Ember, and Pikachu use Thunder Bolt!" The two Pokémon launch a combined attack and send Team Rocket flying.

While flying off, James says, "Well, so much for our plan to promote renewable energy."

Jessie shouts angrily, "That never was our plan!"

Meowth agrees, "Yeah, the only green we care about is cash!"

James answers, "Whether you're eco friendly or not, there's at least one thing that we can all agree on…"

They all say at once, "Looks like we're blasting off again!"

* * *

A little bit later, Ash, Brock, Brenda, and Grant are gathered near a videophone in the Pokémon Center. Professor Pine is one the other side of the line. Professor Pine is saying, "It sounds like you had quite the adventure."

Ash nods. "We sure did. This Turcell is one powerful Pokémon." He beckons to Turcell who is sitting on his shoulder opposite of Pikachu. "We're ready to send it back to you."

Professor Pine smiles. "I don't think that that's necessary. That Turcell seems to really like you. Why don't you keep it with you?"

Ash looks to Turcell and asks, "What do you think Turcell, do you want to come with us?"

Turcell smiles and nods. "Cell!"

Professor Pine says, "Alright, then it's settled. I expect great things out of you two. Good luck at your first gym battle."

"Bye." They hang up. Ash pulls out Turcell's Pokéball, strikes a pose, and declares, "I just caught a Turcell!"

"Pik pikachu!"

"Turcell!"

Grant approaches Ash and offers a hand to shake. "Good luck Ash, I'm leaving now."

Ash asks, "Why, don't you want to finish our battle?"

"After all that's happened today, Hitmonlee and I are tired. Besides, I'm jealous of you getting that Turcell. You have inspired me to go and catch another Pokémon, so I should go and get looking."

Ash shakes his hand. "Alright, good luck to you too then."

"Next time we meet, we'll have to have that battle for sure."

Ash nods. "Count on it."

_ With new friends found in both Turcell and Grant, Ash is ready for anything. And with Ash's first gym battle in Tenno on the horizon, you've just got to stay tuned._

**To Be Continued…**


End file.
